HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Gordon Moore, co-founder and former chairman of the giant technology corporation Intel, passed away at the age of 94.

According to the company and his philanthropic foundation, Moore died peacefully on Friday, March 24, 2023 while surrounded by family at his home in the Big Island of Hawaii.

Gordon Earle Moore was born in San Francisco in January 1929. He was educated at San Jose State University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the California Institute of Technology where he received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1954.

Moore and his longtime colleague Robert Noyce founded Intel in July 1968. Moore initially served as executive vice president until 1975, when he became president.

In 1979, Moore was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO), posts he held until 1987, when he gave up the CEO position and continued as chairman.

In 1990, Gordon Moore received the National Medal of Technology from President George H.W. Bush; followed by the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President George W. Bush in 2002.

In 1997, Moore became chairman emeritus before stepping down in 2006.

Moore also dedicated his focus and energy to philanthropy, particularly environmental conservation, science, and patient care improvements. Along with his wife of 72 years, he established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which has donated more than $5.1 billion to charitable causes since its founding in 2000.

“Those of us who have met and worked with Gordon will forever be inspired by his wisdom, humility, and generosity,” said foundation president Harvey Fineberg. “Though he never aspired to be a household name, Gordon’s vision and his life’s work enabled the phenomenal innovation and technological developments that shape our everyday lives. Yet those historic achievements are only part of his legacy. His and Betty’s generosity as philanthropists will shape the world for generations to come.”

“Gordon Moore defined the technology industry through his insight and vision. He was instrumental in revealing the power of transistors, and inspired technologists and entrepreneurs across the decades,” said Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s current CEO. “My career and much of my life took shape within the possibilities fueled by Gordon’s leadership at the helm of Intel, and I am humbled by the honor and responsibility to carry his legacy forward.”

After retiring from Intel in 2006, Moore divided his time between California and Hawaii, serving as chairman of the board for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation until transitioning to chairman emeritus in 2018.

The Bay Area native is survived by his wife Betty, sons Kenneth and Steven, and four grandchildren.

In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every year, a prediction that came to be known as Moore’s Law.

In 1975, Moore revised his estimate to the doubling of transistors on an integrated circuit every two years for the next 10 years.

Intel explains, “The idea of chip technology growing at an exponential rate, continually making electronics faster, smaller and cheaper, became the driving force behind the semiconductor industry and paved the way for the ubiquitous use of chips in millions of everyday products.””

(Alfred Acenas, Hawaii-Pacific Bureau, Eagle News Service)