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John Bardeen is Born
John Bardeen was born in 1908 in Madison, Wisconsin (Sols 61). -
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Study at the University of Wisconsin
From 1924 to 1929, John Bardeen pursued a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin (Sols 61). -
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Work at Gulf Research Laboratories
From 1930 to 1933, John Bardeen completed geophysics research at Gulf Research Laboratories, where he "invented a new electromagnetic method for the prospection of oil" (Sols 61-62). This approach was successful enough that it was kept secret by Gulf Research for thirty years in order to prevent other companies from utilizing it (Sols 61-61). -
Junior Fellow at Harvard University
In 1935, John Bardeen became a Junior Fellow in Harvard's Society of Fellows (Hoddeson 662). This gave him an opportunity to focus on research for the next three years and connect with other researchers - including William Shockley, who would help bring him to Bell Laboratories later (Hoddeson 662).
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Work at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory
At the start of the United States' involvement in the Second World War, John Bardeen worked at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory which he joined because of his extensive knowledge of geophysics (Hoddeson 101). -
Beginning of Work at Bell Labs
After the Second World War, John Bardeen began his work at Bell Laboratories (Hoddeson et al. 121). -
William Shockley Asks Bardeen to Review "Field Effect" Amplifier
Briefly after starting work at Bell Laboratories, William Shockley had John Bardeen look over a design for a silicon "field effect" amplifier and determine why it did not function as intended (Hoddeson et al. 126-127). This led Bardeen to begin a lengthy study of material surface states semiconductors, and the information gained from this would prove pivotal to the invention of the transistor (Hoddeson et al. 126-127).
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The "Magic Month" of the Transistor's Creation
From the middle of November to December 16th, 1947, the developments that led to the invention of the transistor progressed extremely rapidly (Hoddeson 664). John Bardeen and Walter Brattain worked closely together, with the pair testing designs and iterating on them based on their results (Hoddeson 664). -
Invention of the Transistor
On December 16th, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain first successfully amplified a signal with the "point-contact transistor" (Sols 64).
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Leaves Bell Labs, Moves to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In 1950, John Bardeen left Bell Laboratories and began work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he would remain for the rest of his life (Sols 65).
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Nobel Prize for the Transistor
In 1956, John Bardeen won his first Nobel Prize for the invention of the transistor (Hoddeson 665).
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BCS Theory of Superconductivity
In 1957, the team of John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and J Robert Schrieffer completed and submitted the BCS theory of superconductivity (Hoddeson 665-666). This theory aimed to explain how certain materials - superconductors - allow electrons to flow with minimal resistance at low temperatures, and was quickly accepted among experimentalists (Sols 66). This theory was especially influential in the fields of particle physics and nuclear physics (Sols 66). -
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Service on the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC)
John Bardeen served on the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) from 1959 to 1962, under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy (Hoddeson et al. 254). -
Nobel Prize for BCS Theory
In 1972, John Bardeen was awarded his second Nobel Prize for the BCS theory of superconductivity (Sols 66). He remains the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in the same field (Sols 66).
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John Bardeen's Death
John Bardeen died of a massive heart attack in 1991.