Dr. Robert N. Noyce, 1968

Black-and-white photograph of Dr. Robert N. Noyce. Intel co-founder, Bob Noyce's nickname was the "Mayor of Silicon Valley." He was one of the very first scientists to work in the area -- long before the stretch of California had earned the Silicon name -- and he ran two of the companies that had the greatest impact on the silicon industry: Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. At both companies, Noyce introduced a very casual working atmosphere, the kind of atmosphere that has become a cultural stereotype of how California companies work. But along with that open atmosphere came responsibility. Noyce gave his young, bright employees phenomenal room to accomplish what they wished, in many ways defining the Silicon Valley working style was his third revolution. He also invented the integrated chip, one of the stepping stones along the way to the microprocessors in today's computers. Noyce died of heart failure in 1990, at the age of 62