Herbert Kroemer, a German-born American physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his part in discoveries that paved the way for the development of many trappings of modern life, including high-speed internet communication, mobile phones and bar-code readers, died on March 8. The death was announced by the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was an emeritus professor. Dr. Kroemer’s most important contributions were in the development of so-called heterostructures. They vastly enhance the speed, and therefore the power, of transistors and other types of semiconductors that are the building blocks of all electronic equipment. But by the time he received a share, with two other scientists, of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000, the impact of his work was so enormous, it could not be denied.

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Persons: Herbert Kroemer, Kroemer’s Organizations: University of California Locations: German, Santa Barbara