Andrew H. Bobeck


Andrew H. Bobeck was a Bell Labs researcher best known for his invention of bubble memory.
Bobeck was born in Tower Hill, Pennsylvania.
In 1975, Bobeck was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to the field of magnetic bubbles that have produced a new class of electronic devices.

Education

In 1948, Bobeck earned a Bachelor of Science degree in EE from Purdue University. In 1949, Bobeck earned a Master of Science degree in EE from Purdue University.

Career

Bobeck was a member of United States Navy's V12 Program.
In 1949, Bobeck joined Bell Laboratories. Bobeck helped design communication and pulse transformers and then one of the first solid-state digital computers. Starting in 1956 he devoted his efforts to the development of magnetic logic and memory devices. He invented the twistor memory in the late 1950s, and in the late 1960s bubble memory based on magnetic domains in orthoferrites and garnets. In 1989 he retired from AT&T's Bell Labs.
Bobeck held more than 120 patents, and was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an IEEE Fellow. He received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Purdue in 1972, the 1975 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award, and the 1987 IEEE Magnetics Society Achievement Award. He was also presented with the Stuart Ballantine Medal for Computer Sciences by The Franklin Institute in 1973.

Selected works

Awards