Volume 30, No. 11
November 2005

The Long-Reaching Influence of Arthur von Hippel:
Interdisciplinarity and Semiconductors
Alan B. Fowler

Abstract
While Arthur von Hippel did not work directly in semiconductors, his interdisciplinary style introduced a way of doing science in universities that was applied to semiconductors and now is applicable to nanotechnology as well as many other technologically important areas. This article covers the major developments and players in semiconductors from their early discovery and understanding, in the context of
von Hippel's seminal development of the interdisciplinary approach to research and
its impact on the field.

Keywords: Arthur von Hippel, semiconductors.