Louis A. Girifalco studied applied science at the University of Cincinnati, and did his Ph.D. research on the adhesion of ice to surfaces. The surface science thesis research naturally evolved into solid state physics when Girifalco began work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which eventually became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. During his career Girifalco met Robert Maddin, which ultimately led an offer of a faculty position for Girifalco at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Girifalco worked in the metallurgical engineering department and reflected upon the creation of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LSRM), as well as the funding process within LRSM. Fundamentally an interdisciplinary research institute, Girifalco spent time as director of LRSM and discussed his views on the evolution of the academic science research system and on the Nano/Bio Interface Center and other current interdisciplinary research institutes.
Hyungsub Choi is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University and was manager of the emerging technologies program at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, directing the Robert W. Gore Materials Innovation project. His training is in the history of science and technology, with specialties in recent developments in the fields of semiconductors, materials science, and nanotechnology. He has received degrees from Seoul National University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Johns Hopkins University. He was a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Choi’s works have appeared in leading professional journals, such as Technology and Culture and Social Studies of Science. Currently, he is preparing a book examining the history of the semiconductor industry in the United States and Japan.
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