Mohamed M. Atalla was an Egyptian American engineer, physical chemist, cryptographer, inventor, and entrepreneur.
He was born on August 4, 1924 in Port Said, Egypt and he is of Egyptian descent. Mohamed was a semiconductor pioneer who made significant contributions to modern electrons and is known for inventing the MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) which revolutionized the electronics industry.
Before his rise to fame, Mohamed received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cairo University and his master’s degree and Ph.D in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Throughout his career, Mohamed received the Stuart Ballantine Medal (now the Benjamin Franklin Medal in physics), a Distinguished Alumnus doctorate from Purdue University, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the IT History Society’s IT Honor Roll for his important contributions to information technology.
