Man who invented microchip lives in Asheville

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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This dude changed our lives:

CLEMSON — Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration of the integrated circuit – also known as the microchip, and a retired Clemson University professor was a pioneer in the field.

Dr. Jay W. Lathrop came to Clemson in the late 1960s from Texas Instruments, where he worked with Nobel Prize winner Jack Kilby, who demonstrated the first integrated circuit to fellow TI engineers on Sept. 12, 1958.

By 1961, Kilby and a team that included Lathrop had developed computer applications for his invention.

Lathrop, who now lives in the Asheville area, was in Dallas for a TI celebration of the milestone and couldn’t be reached for comment.

The chip opened the door to cell phones, portable ultrasound machines and automotive antilock braking systems, said Renee Fancher, a TI spokesperson. Today, the worldwide demand for integrated circuits represents a $250 billion-a-year industry and feeds technological revolutions in fields from aerospace to zoology.