Jack Kilby. View of the American computer engineer, Jack St Clair Kilby (1923-). Kilby, the son of the president of his local power company, received his masters degree in electrical engineering from Wisconsin University, USA, in 1950. In 1958, whilst working for Texas Instruments, he devised an integrated circuit for computers. Kilby showed that a number of transistors could be made on the surface of a small block of semiconductor. He went on to become a freelance inventor and registered 50 patents. In 1978, he became distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas A & M University, USA.