Jack St. Clair Kilby is among a handful of living persons whose insights and achievements have changed the world. At the age of 34, while working at Texas Instruments, he invented the microchip, or monolithic integrated circuit. This breakthrough laid the conceptual and technical foundation for the entire field of modern microelectronics and made possible the high-speed computers and large-capacity semiconductor memories of today's information age. In addition, he holds more than 60 U.S. patents. He has received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Science, selection to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology. From 1978 to 1984, he was Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He continues to guide the advancement of technology as a consultant to government and industry. Texas Instruments co-founder J. Erik Jonsson has said, "There is no way to see the end of Jack Kilby's impact through the invention of the microchip." For his creative genius, opening endless new possibilities for humanity through technology, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Jack St. Clair Kilby the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.