Chuck Darwin<p>Herbert Kroemer, Nobel winner who developed laser tech, dies at 95 </p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Herbert" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Herbert</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Kroemer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Kroemer</span></a>, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who spearheaded the development of a new kind of semiconductor, leading to advances at the heart of everything from bar-code scanners, CD players and cellphones to satellite communications and fiber-optic networks, died March 8 at 95.<br>
His death was announced by the University of California at Santa Barbara ( <a href="https://c.im/tags/UCSB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UCSB</span></a> ), where he had been on the faculty for nearly 50 years. </p><p>A statement from the school’s chancellor, Henry T. Yang, did not say where or how he died but credited Dr. Kroemer with “transforming UC Santa Barbara into a leader in engineering and <a href="https://c.im/tags/materials" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>materials</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>science</span></a>.”<br>
A German-born researcher with a thick white beard and heavy skepticism of scientific authority, Dr. Kroemer was awarded a share of the <a href="https://c.im/tags/Nobel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Nobel</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Prize" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Prize</span></a> in <a href="https://c.im/tags/physics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>physics</span></a> in 2000 for developing <a href="https://c.im/tags/semiconductor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>semiconductor</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/heterostructures" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heterostructures</span></a>, layered devices that proved foundational to advanced lasers and high-speed transistors.<br>
He shared his half of the prize with the Russian physicist Zhores <a href="https://c.im/tags/Alferov" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Alferov</span></a>, who worked independently but in parallel to develop the devices; the other half went to Jack <a href="https://c.im/tags/Kilby" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Kilby</span></a>, a researcher at Texas Instruments who played a central role in the invention of the integrated circuit, or microchip</p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/03/28/herbert-kroemer-dead/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">washingtonpost.com/obituaries/</span><span class="invisible">2024/03/28/herbert-kroemer-dead/</span></a></p>