Texas History Minute:

Technology has transformed the world in ways many can scarcely imagine in just the past few decades What once was the realm of science fiction are now indispensable tools for everyday life and even toys for children. Some of these remarkable devices, such as the integrated circuit and the hand-held calculator were largely the result of the dedication and imagination of one man, adopted Texan and Nobel Prize winner Jack Kilby

Kilby was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1923 When he was still very young, the family moved to Great Bend, Kansas, where his father ran an electrical supply company This, coupled with his father’s interest in short-wave radio, nurtured a fascination with electronics After his graduation from high school, Kilby enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain and earned a bachelors degree in electrical engineering in 1947

After his college graduation, he landed a job with an electronics manufacturer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Anxious to further his education while working full-time, he went to night school where he eventually earned a masters degree in electrical engineering the Milwaukee Extension of the University of Wisconsin in 1950

Three years later, he created his first invention, a type of plug-in circuit

Though the patent was not approved until 1959, it was the first of ten patents he would complete

Texas Instruments in Dallas was interested in his ideas on circuit miniaturization and hired him as a researcher and developer in 1958

Within a few months of his arrival, he made a stunning breakthrough He helped develop the integrated circuit, a forerunner of the microchip that allows modern computers to operate Kilby’s invention, for which he secured three patents for different parts of the design, allowed computers to perform calculations faster and for computers to start becoming smaller and cheaper. Shortly afterward, the U S Air Force began contracted with Texas Instruments to experiment with Kilby’s integrated circuit, which were soon being incorporated into new computer designs Three more patents were secured as Kilby perfected the initial design Kilby’s breakthrough in circuit miniaturization set off a frenzy in the electronics industry as engineers worked to make circuit designs ever smaller, faster, and more efficient.

In 1965, Kilby and his team invented the thermal printer, using heat for printing with industrial devices instead of the cumbersome mechanical keys used in typewriters for decades by this point This allowed for increased speed and efficiency and fewer mechanical problems It was soon being used in the new computers that Texas Instruments was producing

By 1967, one of the earliest practical applications of the integrated circuit was developed by Kilby for the general public, the handheld electronic calculator The calculator was an instant success, transforming homes and businesses across the nation The patent for this invention was granted in 1974

From 1978 to 1984, he served as a distinguished professor of electrical engineering at Texas A&M University Kilby formally retired from Texas Instruments in 1983, just as the computer revolution he had helped inaugurate was getting underway As the world embraced computers in the 1980s, an increasing number of the new generation of designers, engineers, and programmers pointed to the importance of Kilby's work in making new computer technology possible He often spoke to colleges and businesses around the world in his retirement years honor in science for his lifetime of achievement when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing the award with Z I Alferov of Russia and Herbert Kroemer of Germany, who had also made major breakthroughs in semiconductor research The Nobel Prize placed him among such great scientific minds of history as Albert Einstein Kilby died in Dallas in 2005.

In 2000, he received the highest drkenbridges@gmail com

Band

and done, Howe was the only Class C band that received single "ones" across the board The only schools in the costest that got straight ones were Howe, Anna and Princeton, which ironically all have ties to former Howe band legend, Elmer Schenk

If anyone was wondering if the Pride of Howe were to be slowing down anytime soon, those thoughts seem to be shattered due to the performances of the next generation The band program seems to just pass the baton year after year with great success since that first state championship in 1980

"We're looking at numbers now and doing projections." said Howe Band Director Angie Liss "We know that we don't keep everybody, but it's very feasible that in a couple of years that we're at the 100 mark in the high school band "

Monday, April 11, 2016

The largest high school band that Howe has had was 82 members back in the 2006-07 school year They are on pace to have low to mid 80's this coming school year

Liss compares the Concert and Sight Reading contest to the STAAR test for band students

The Howe Middle School aced the test

The young students are currently playing a song called "Flight of Eagles" which the high school band played back in 2000 and won Honor Band

"Our middle school is playing the socks off of that song " said Liss "It's kind of cool that your high school band played it and now your middle school band has come to that level "

The Middle School Band Directors are Julie Cook and Logan Stalcup