For the past 60 years, Carver Mead has focused his research and teaching on the physics and technology of electron devices. A pure product of Caltech (BS '56, MS '57, PhD '60), he is a prolific inventor whose career is characterized by an endless string of "firsts"--going from wireless electronics, to microelectronics, to neuromorphic engineering. He also loves to teach, encouraging his students to contribute more than their share.

Upon receiving the BBVA Foundation's Frontiers of Knowledge Award, one of many major honors and awards during the course of his academic life, he was recognized for being "the most influential thinker and pioneer" of the silicon age and for enabling "the development of the billion-transistor processors that drive the electronic devices—for example, in laptops, tablets, smartphones, DVD players—ubiquitous in our daily lives.” Every thirteen years, Carver moves on to new scientific exploration and territory!