Harry Sello
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
Harry Sello begins the first interview with a review of his childhood which included emigration from Russia and a strong emphasis on education in his household. Sello quickly became interested in chemistry and completed undergraduate work in organic chemistry before applying this knowledge to his PhD research on the rearrangement of single molecules at the University of Missouri. He completed service in the United States Navy and modeled scaling-up procedures of flammable compounds at Shell Development Company. William Shockley recruited him to Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, from which he departed on suspicion of connection to the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor. At Shockley and then at Fairchild, Sello worked on a variety of chemical aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. At Fairchild Semiconductor, Sello concentrated on the transfer of silicon transistor technology to Societa Generale Semiconduttore in Italy, negotiating cultural and industrial boundaries. Sello remained with Fairchild Semiconductor during its decline, reorganizing research and production. In 1980, he began Harry Sello Associates after Fairchild Semiconductor was sold to Schlumberger Exploration. Sello concludes the interview with reflections on his current role as an expert witness.
Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | AB | Chemistry |
| 1944 | University of Missouri | MA | Physical Chemistry |
| 1948 | University of Missouri | PhD | Physical Chemistry |
Professional Experience
Shell Development Company
Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
Fairchild Semiconductor Research and Development Laboratories
Harry Sello and Associates
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Pi Mu Epsilon, Mathematics Honorary |
| 1944 | Sigma Xi, National Research Honorary |
| 1948 | Sigma Xi, National Research Honorary |
| 1976 | Chairman, International Committee, American Electronics Association |
| 1982 | Chairman, International Committee, American Electronics Association |
| 1990 | Export Executive of the Year, Northern California District Office, US Department of Commerce |
Table of Contents
Family history. Great Depression era. Relationship with father. Relationship with mother. Pastimes. High school interest in chemistry. Wright Junior College. Student employment. Laboratory work. University of Illinois. Organic chemistry. World War II draft. Encouragement for graduate school.
University of Missouri. Worth H. Rodebush. George Vineyard. Master's thesis on penacol compounds. Service in the US Navy. PhD thesis. Shell Development Company.
Process Development Department. Scaling up of flammable material. Equipment modification. William B. Shockley. Tempest in a Text Tube television program. High school teaching. Photolithography.
Psychological testing. William Shockley. Photolithography. Management style of William Shockley. Transistor packaging. Coworkers. Chih-Tang Sah. Jean A. Hoerni. Personnel management issues. Founding of Fairchild Semiconductor. Maurice Hanafin. Silicon wafer diffusion. Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Four-layer diode. Role at Fairchild Semiconductor. Gordon E. Moore. Pre-production. Work in Italy. NPN transistor. Transfer of technology. Germanium transistor in Europe. Societa Generale Semiconduttore. Materials and processes. Electromigration. Research and development. Soviet semiconductor market. Germanium transistor. W. Jerry Sanders. National Semiconductor.
Research and development. Loss of Gordon E. Moore and Robert N. Noyce. Technical planning. Partnership with Societa Generale Semiconduttore. International business. Licensing. Revenue. Bipolar and integrated circuits. Schlumberger exploration. Decline of Fairchild Semiconductor. Harry Sello and Associates.
About the Interviewer
Christophe Lécuyer is a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and he received a PhD in history from Stanford University. He was a fellow of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology and has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Virginia. Before becoming a senior research fellow at CHF, Lécuyer was the program manager of the electronic materials department. He has published widely on the history of electronics, engineering education, and medical and scientific instruments, and is the author of Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930–1970 (2005).
David C. Brock is a senior research fellow with the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. As a historian of science and technology, he specializes in the history of semiconductor science, technology, and industry; the history of instrumentation; and oral history. Brock has studied the philosophy, sociology, and history of science at Brown University, the University of Edinburgh, and Princeton University.
In the policy arena Brock recently published Patterning the World: The Rise of Chemically Amplified Photoresists, a white-paper case study for the Center’s Studies in Materials Innovation. With Hyungsub Choi he is preparing an analysis of semiconductor technology roadmapping, having presented preliminary results at the 2009 meeting of the Industry Studies Association.