Transistor Museum Library Rossoff Index Transistor Electronics

Transistor Museum Library

“TRANSISTOR ELECTRONICS”

by David DeWitt and Arthur L. Rossoff

Curator’s Introduction

Mr. Arthur L. Rossoff is co-author of one of the most widely regarded early texts on transistor technology. Published in 1957 by McGraw Hill, “Transistor Electronics” was quickly adopted as a standard text in many universities and colleges across the country. As you’ll discover in the interview with Mr. Rossoff, this book was based on a series of lectures developed by the authors and delivered to the engineering staff at the Radio Receptor Semiconductor Division, beginning in 1954 when Mr. Rossoff was the Chief Applications Engineer for that company. Here are a few quotes from the McGraw Hill announcement of the book in 1957: “In this timely new work the central purpose is to describe the properties of the transistor in a manner which relates them plausibly to physical theory, and which at the same time expresses them in useful form. The book has been organized to teach systematic quantitative concepts, and to apply them to transistor types which appear to have a good future. The material has been selected both for its power to the man who learns it and its pedagogic suitability for his further progress in this rapidly developing field. Because of the emphasis on fundamentals, the substance of the book will continue to be valid and useful in spite of advances and changes…..”

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Author’s Comments

Art Rossoff

Mr. Rossoff provided these comments during an interview in March, 2001.

Can you please provide a brief description of your career in electronics, Mr. Rossoff?

I received my BSEE at City College of New York in 1943. After that, I went on to the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now called Polytechnic University) to work in the microwave lab under the leadership of the now legendary Professor Ernst Weber. This was all in support of the war effort. We were a sub-contractor to the MIT Radiation Labs. I completed part-time work for an MSEE. After two brief work assignments in the microwave field, I joined the Radio Receptor company in 1950. At first, I was given responsibility as project engineer for a uhf transmitter for the Air Force, developing mostly microwave hardware. Later, in 1953, I joined the new Semiconductor Division. At that time, the general manager of the Division was Dave DeWitt – I reported to him, and had the title of Chief Applications Engineer. I remained at Radio Receptor in this position until RR was bought out by General Instruments in 1957. I stayed with General Instruments, but left the semiconductor business and moved back into GI’s military equipment business as VP of Marketing for Defense Products.

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