Alumni Spotlight: Harold J.Paz (‘54)

Comb through the annals of NYU Tandon history and you’ll find several notable alumni, from Charles R. Flint (1868), who formed the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (later renamed IBM), to Jasper H. Kane (’28), who developed a process that allowed for the mass production of penicillin, thereby saving countless lives, to Buddy D. Ratner (‘72), widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern bioengineering.

To that list must be added Harold J.Paz (‘54), whose invention of the Transistor Direct-Coupled Amplifier led to the development of the world’s first Analog Silicon Chip, today an essential component of every electronics system, from the smallest mobile phone to massive power systems.

Now, seven decades after his graduation, we caught up with the inventor to learn more about his life and work.

Q: Can you tell us a little about your background and how you first became interested in science and technology?

A: I was born in Brooklyn in 1929 and grew up during the Great Depression. My father had a grocery store that went bankrupt in 1932. 

On my 10th birthday, I received a kit for building a Cat Whiskers Radio, so-called because the wires looked like a cat’s whiskers. I loved that radio. The “whiskers” could be suspended over a crystal stone, and when touching it in different places, it created a connection that brought in “captured” local radio signals. I was fascinated by its uniqueness and simplicity.

I attended Straubenmiller Textile High School on West 18th Street, in Manhattan. I took a three-year course in applied electricity and was an active member of the Arista, which is an honor society.

One day, my science teacher took me aside and asked me what I was going to do after graduation. I was stunned! I hadn't really ever thought about life after high school or my future. The teacher then asked me what I liked to do. Spontaneously, I replied, “I like to fix radios." My teacher then spoke the words that changed my life, “Young man, you need to go to college.” College ... an idea I had never even considered! After all, I was just a poor boy with no money and few options for employment.

I was too young to know that engineers do not really fix radios, but this lack of knowledge resulted in my good luck, because I applied to what was then known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a precursor to NYU Tandon. My mother lent me the money for tuition for the first year.  

Q: Can you tell us about your college years?

A: I was the founder of the student chapter of the Institute of Radio Engineers, which later merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the group we’re all familiar with now as IEEE. I was the first treasurer and went on to serve as secretary, vice president, member of the Metropolitan Council, and coordinator of the Transistor Project.  

I also did two internships: one at Bell Telephone Labs, where the point contact transistor had been  invented, and the other at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). As a student, I had designed a transistor wireless microphone, and RCA saw it and decided that they wanted to patent it for use by their NBC Television Network.

Q: What happened after you graduated?

A: My degree opened the door to many career possibilities, and I opted to join the Transistor Research Department at the Philco Corporation. This was at about the same time that Robert Noyce was hired to improve transistor design for use in digital circuits, because Philco had a contract to design a transistor computer for use by the military.  Noyce had the vision to put an entire transistor computer on a silicon slab, but that dream would take a lot of time, money, and manpower. Noyce famously left to co-found Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. Interestingly, another co-founder was Eugene Kleiner (‘48), a fellow Poly alum who had graduated a few years before me.

At Philco, I began pursuing the concept of using analog signals in a transistor circuit design without the need of a coupling capacitor. One of the proudest moments of my career came in 1955, when I patent my idea for the Transistor Direct-Coupled Amplifier.

Q: Can you put your invention into historical context for lay readers?

A: In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the first electric light bulb, which replaced the candle and made possible the utility industry that strung the wires to get electricity to our homes. In 1906 Lee de Forest put a wire into Edison’s light bulb and helped create the vacuum tube, which gave birth to the electronics industry. My 1955 patent revolutionized the electronic design paradigm.

Q: Could you describe the chain of events that followed the patent?

A: The first major application for my patent was the "Philco Mark I" hearing aid, introduced in 1955. It was a crucial milestone in hearing-aid technology and catalyzed a seismic shift in the industry. Before this innovation, hearing aid designs relied on bulky components such as vacuum tubes and discrete transistors, often requiring large coupling capacitors to prevent transistor burnout. Expunging the cumbersome coupling capacitors, presented a new approach in reducing the size and weight of conventional hearing aids. 

The buzz surrounding the "Philco Mark I" spread like wildfire through the industry, and it ignited a frenzy of excitement. Within a year, in 1956, the industry had undergone an earth-shaking transformation with the advent of behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids. Leading the charge was the "Zenith 1956 Diplomat BTE,” a sleek, sophisticated device that brought newfound convenience to those with hearing impairments. The reduction in size eventually paved the way for the development of in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids.

The real traction of applications started to take shape in March of 1959, when I submitted my paper "A New Approach to Low Distortion in a Transistor Power Amplifier" to the Institute of Radio Engineers Convention. The paper showcased the application of my patent in power amplifier design, and corporations worldwide clamored for copies, eager to unlock the secrets of Direct-Coupled Transistors.

Q: How did that innovation lead to the Analog Silicon Chip?

A: Within three months of my presentation at the convention, on June 30th, 1959, Fairchild Semiconductor acquired a cross-license agreement with Philco. This gave Fairchild access to the Direct-Coupled Transistor Amplifier patent. Within five years, the company had developed the first Analog Silicon Chip product, the uA702 operational amplifier, which drastically and permanently changed the electronic industry. It condensed complex analog functions onto a single silicon chip, heralding a new era of electronic miniaturization and integration. This wasn't just a technological leap; it was a quantum leap. It miniaturized electronic products, making them more accessible and affordable to the masses. No longer constrained by size or cost, the sky was the limit for innovation. Gone were the days of Lee de Forest’s bulky vacuum tubes and discrete components.

Without that innovation, you would not be making calls on a smartphone, entering information on a laptop, or interacting with an AI chatbot.

I’m proud to be one of the pioneers of the industry, along with Noyce, Jack S. Kilby, and Francis Keiper Jr., and grateful to still be alive to see how my vision and contributions continue to resonate, as new applications are discovered.

Q: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current students?

A: The Direct-Coupled Transistor Amplifier was a triumph of human ingenuity, a testament to what can be achieved when we dare to dream big, and proof of the boundless possibilities of innovation. I didn’t dream of being able to make such a positive impact on the world as a young boy growing up during the Depression, so I hope that they’ll realize that no matter what their circumstances, they can do so as well.