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07.11

IEEE Innovator Recognized for 250th Patent

By Chris McManes

IEEE director Dr. William Tonti was recently honored for a milestone few inventors ever achieve — his 250th patent. His parents, Aldo and Catherine, made the day even more special by joining him for the ceremony at the IEEE Operations Center in Piscataway, N.J.

“It was a nice family event and everybody enjoyed it,” Tonti said. “The staff was very supportive, and I think it’s good for IEEE and IBM to have that recognition.”

Tonti, an IEEE Fellow, Reliability Society and Electron Device Society member, retired from IBM in 2008. He lives in Essex Junction, Vt., and travels frequently in his position with IEEE.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin recognized Tonti’s accomplishment with a proclamation that was presented to him during the 20 April event. It cites his “lifetime dedicated to innovation in our state.”

Vermont Rep. Peter Welch also honored Tonti on the floor of the House of Representatives on 11 May. His remarks, which are part of the Congressional Record, said Tonti “… is one of the most accomplished inventors in Vermont and the country. This impressive accomplishment is worthy of recognition by this Congress.”

Tonti’s 250th patent — granted 1 February — is for a technique to build three-dimensional transistors. Known as “FinFets,” they combine the innovation of both existing and new technologies.

“This would enable a semiconductor technologist to build both a standard transistor, which is typically a two-dimensional transistor, and then add the method and structure to build a three-dimensional device,” he said. “They conduct on multiple surfaces, and it gives you a performance advantage. So there are reasons to keep the old transistors and the technology, and there are reasons to have the new ones.”

Tonti was designated an IBM Master Inventor, an honor the company bestows on only a handful of its most innovative employees. Welch, in his remarks before Congress, said, “This is a fitting recognition for a lifetime of impressive accomplishments and for a Vermonter of high character.”

Tonti said he still has 150 to 200 potential patents in a backlog at IBM, so he will continue to have patented works credited to him for the next five to six years. Because all of his patents are assigned to IBM, the company paid the fees associated with the filings, fees that can easily reach $20,000. He said that although he still has a lot of ideas, he probably won’t file patent applications on his own because of the cost.

“I’ll probably kind of fade away, as other people fade away when they retire,” Tonti said. “Once the backlog wears down, that’s more or less the end of it.”

Innovations that have flourished under the American patent system — which is provided for in the U.S. Constitution — have led to machines, systems and devices that have changed the way the world communicates, shares information and conducts business. The Internet, cell phones, global positioning systems (GPS), life-saving medical technologies, fiber optics and wireless communications, among others, have created thousands of jobs and bolstered the world economy, particularly in the United States. Internet-based companies such as eBay, Facebook and Google also employ thousands of workers.

“In America, our industries are built on innovation,” Tonti said. “Patents, jobs, manufacturing and a robust economy all go hand-in-hand. We don’t want to lose that advantage to other nations.”

Encouraging Promising Technologies

Tonti might be retired from IBM, but he’s still contributing to the profession as director of the IEEE Future Directions Committee, a body which identifies and promotes emerging technologies. It released a beta version of IEEE Technology Navigator in early April to make it easier for engineering and computing professionals to find content and events relevant to their technical expertise.

In early June Tonti participated in the IEEE Technology Time Machine, a symposium that featured future technologies and rising platforms such as cloud computing, e-health and the Smart Grid. Former IEEE-USA President and 2012 IEEE President Gordon Day also attended the event in Hong Kong.

“I’m in a different job and a different environment now where intellectual property is not the key component,” Tonti said. “Working for IEEE is more about aiding the next generation of young and mid-range engineers by giving them platforms to showcase their work.

“That’s what I’m doing now, and I enjoy it.”

Education and Early IBM Career

Tonti received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and added a master’s degree in business administration from St. Michael’s College. He earned his MS and Ph.D. in electrical engineering, both from the University of Vermont.

He began working for IBM in 1978 as a lead electrical engineer in test analysis and test equipment design engineering, and rose to senior technical staff member and senior manager. His work focused on advanced DRAM (digital random access memory) semiconductors, nanotechnology, microprocessors, chip reliability and other pioneering innovations. He still recalls receiving word from IBM that it wanted to hire him.

“They offered me a position on my birthday in 1978,” he said. “I took the call at Penn Station in New York — in an antique phone booth by today’s standards.”

Tonti received his first patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1994 and his 100th in 2003. From 1993 to 2003, IBM generated 25,772 patents, nearly triple the total of any other U.S. IT company. He cited the role IEEE conferences played in fostering new ideas.

“The exposure to these international conferences led to many patents, with a large majority of the subsequent issues being awarded as best IBM patents of the year,” he said. “These conferences, as well as others, are breeding grounds for technology development.”

IEEE Recognition

In 2009, Tonti became an IEEE Fellow “for contributions to semiconductor memory reliability.” The Institute’s highest grade of membership is only conferred upon a few members each year, not to exceed one-tenth of 1 percent of the total IEEE voting membership.

Tonti is a former advisory board member of the IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, and a former president of the IEEE Reliability Society, which chose him as 2008 Engineer of the Year.

In the letter announcing his selection, Dr. Jeffrey Voas said that its Engineer of the Year Award is not given every year, only when a candidate is “unusually qualified.”

“The fact that you were chosen to receive this award is a testimony to your outstanding technical achievements and your demonstrated interest in IEEE and reliability-related professional activities,” Voas wrote.

Tonti’s wife, Debra, missed the IEEE ceremony because she was with their daughter, Samantha, who had run in the Boston Marathon two days prior and was still tending to marathon-related activities. Their other daughter, Janelle Krummel, works with her husband for the Department of Defense at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Naval Shipyard. Both are electrical engineers.

Tonti’s serial innovation makes him one of about only 20 people in the United States who have been awarded as many or more patents than his 250:

“I think I know about six of them, so it’s an honor to be in that group.”

Chris McManes is IEEE-USA’s public relations manager and an affiliate member of the IEEE Professional Communication Society.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.