Calvin Souther Fuller
| Calvin Souther Fuller | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 25, 1902 |
| Died | October 28, 1994 (aged 92) Vero Beach, Florida |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Physical Chemistry |
| Institutions | AT&T Bell Laboratories |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago, PhD |
| Known for | Invention of the Solar cell |
| Notable awards |
Elected to US National Inventors Hall of Fame, May 2, 2008, for invention of the "Silicon Solar Cell" along with Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson. Elected to New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, June 22, 2006, for Development of the Semiconductor Photovoltaic Solar Cell. Winner of Alfred Krupp Award, Heidelberg University, Germany. Received the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1963. |
Elected to US National Inventors Hall of Fame, May 2, 2008, for invention of the "Silicon Solar Cell" along with Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson. Elected to New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, June 22, 2006, for Development of the Semiconductor Photovoltaic Solar Cell. Winner of Alfred Krupp Award, Heidelberg University, Germany.
Calvin Souther Fuller (May 25, 1902 – October 28, 1994) was a physical chemist at AT&T Bell Laboratories where he worked for 37 years from 1930 to 1967. Fuller was part of a team in basic research that found answers to physical challenges. He helped develop synthetic rubber during World War II, he was involved in early experiments of zone melting, he is credited with devising the method of transistor production yielding diffusion transistors, he produced some of the first solar cells with high efficiency, and he researched polymers and their applications.
Calvin Fuller was born in Chicago 25 May 1902 to Julius Quincy and Bessie Souther Fuller. Studying chemistry at the University of Chicago, he received his B.S. in 1926, and working with William Draper Harkins, earned a Ph.D. degree in 1929.
From 1920 to 1922 he worked for the General Chemical Company, and from 1924 to 1930 for the Chicago Tribune. In 1930 he moved to Murray Hill, New Jersey to take up a position as physical chemist for Bell Labs. On 17 September 1932 he married Willimine Works.
In August 1942 Fuller became part of the effort to develop synthetic rubber as the supply of natural rubber was cut off by the Japanese. He travelled widely in the USA representing the Office of Rubber Reserve in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The effort involved several academic and industrial laboratories as well as scientists W.O. Baker and J.H. Heiss of Bell Labs. In 16 months they were able to begin production of Government Rubber-Styrene. Fuller and Baker developed methods to perfect the chemical process for large scale manufacturing. There were 700,000 tons of the synthetic rubber produced in 1945.
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