Marshall I. Nathan
- Birthdate
- 1933/01/22
- Birthplace
- Lakewood, NJ, USA
- Associated organizations
- IBM
- Fields of study
- Semiconductors
- Awards
- IEEE David Sarnoff Award
Biography
Marshall I. Nathan was born in Lakewood, New Jersey, on January 22, 1933. He earned his B. S. degree in Physics (1954) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his M.A. in Physics (1956) and Ph. D. in Applied Physics (1958) from Harvard University.
In 1958 Dr. Nathan joined the IBM Corporation's Research Division at Poughkeepsie, New York, working in semiconductor physics, particularly hot electron phenomena and tunnel diodes. In 1961 he moved with the Research Division to IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center at Yorktown Heights, New York, where he worked on the luminescence of III-V semiconductors.
It was in 1962 that, in collaboration with several colleagues, Dr. Nathan observed stimulated emission in gallium arsenide, thus demonstrating the feasibility of the injection laser. After this he did, and led others to do, pioneering studies of the physics associated with laser action in semiconductors.
In 1964 he became manager of the Semiconductor Physics group in the Physical Sciences Department at the Watson Research Center, and in 1970 he became manager of the Cooperative Phenomena group. He later became consultant for logic and memory to the Director of Research in 1974, manager of the injection laser group in the Applied Research Department in 1975, and manager of the Semiconductor Physics and Devices Department in 1976.
Since 1964 Dr. Nathan has worked part-time in several fields of semiconductor physics, including hot electron phenomena, Raman scattering, and laser annealing. In February 1980 he returned to full-time research as manager of a small group to study the physics of semiconductor microstructures.
Dr. Nathan is a Fellow of the IEEE, in which he has served on conference committees and awards committees. He is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society, in whose Division of Solid State Physics he served as Secretary-Treasurer from 1974 to 1978. He has been active in organizing conferences on semiconductor physics.
Marshall Nathan and his wife, Rosalie, reside in Tarrytown, New York. They have three grown children. His hobbies are tennis, cross-country skiing, and running.
