Gerald Pearson

Gerald L. Pearson (March 31, 1905 – October 25, 1987) was an American physicist whose work on silicon rectifiers at Bell Labs led to the invention of the solar cell. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Biography

Pearson was born in Salem, Oregon. He took a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Willamette University and a master's degree in physics from Stanford University. From 1929 he worked as a research physicist at Bell Labs and his early work on temperature-sensitive resistors led to 13 patents on

P-N junction producing the first evidence of power amplification in the search for the transistor

.

In 1954 his work on silicon rectifiers led to the first practical

photovoltaic cell (solar cell), together with Daryl Chapin and Calvin Souther Fuller

.

He took early retirement from Bell in 1960 to take up the position of professor of electrical engineering at Stanford setting up a research program on

compound semiconductors.^[2]

Awards and honors

In 1964, Pearson received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.^[3]

References

^ "Hall of Fame Inventor Profile: Gerald L. Pearson". National Inventors Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 21 Nov 2013.
^ "MEMORIAL RESOLUTION GERALD L. PEARSON" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 21 Nov 2013.
American Academy of Achievement
.

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Gerald Pearson on 23 August 1976, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerald_Pearson&oldid=1220177923"

[1] "Hall of Fame Inventor Profile: Gerald L. Pearson". National Inventors Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 21 Nov 2013.

[2] "MEMORIAL RESOLUTION GERALD L. PEARSON" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 21 Nov 2013.

[3] American Academy of Achievement
.

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