Willis Whitfield: Creator of clean room technology still in use today (2024)(sandia.gov)
sandia.gov
Willis Whitfield: Creator of clean room technology still in use today (2024)
https://www.sandia.gov/labnews/2024/04/04/willis-whitfield-a-simple-man-with-a-simple-solution-that-changed-the-world/
59 comments
Losing a parent, especially, leaves its mark.
I exist because my mom's mother died a year earlier. My brother exists because my mom's grandmother died a year earlier.
Recently, with my mom’s passing, I realised I’m now an orphan.
It really sucks, at any age.
It really sucks, at any age.
It does, but it's better than the alternative.
I had no idea this was the man who was responsible for the cleanroom where I spent thousands of hours working in right after college. To get in a Class 10 cleanroom, there was the laborious routine of gowning from head to toe and then taking the air shower and passing through the airlock before entering the place that looked like it belonged in science fiction. It was a strange environment trying to recognize anyone because all you can see are people’s eyes through goggles. After awhile you remember their gait as the first tell. There was even a belief that exposure to the air inside made people, say for lack of a better word, amorous. Myth or true maybe some can chime in.
Thanks for sharing the article.
Thanks for sharing the article.
My first thought: "Wow. They let you breathe into the room unfiltered?".
Second thought is that any amorousness would be linked more to the donning, and importantly doffing, of the extra clothes in view of your coworkers. Our culture has a nudity taboo, and thus hints of taking off clothes, or being relatively unclothed, in the presence of others of the opposite sex (or same sex for those so inclined) is viscerally linked to sex.
Second thought is that any amorousness would be linked more to the donning, and importantly doffing, of the extra clothes in view of your coworkers. Our culture has a nudity taboo, and thus hints of taking off clothes, or being relatively unclothed, in the presence of others of the opposite sex (or same sex for those so inclined) is viscerally linked to sex.
Growing up on a farm with access to minimal technology provides a perfect setting for producing finest minds. It provides beautiful challenges, minimal resources and full of freedom.
And the reward (or punishment) would be to move to city life or to Western countries. That's a pity. Modern life puts you into a grove to move in. You are a caged animal or a micro-managed worker. There are no problems and no freedom. Can't even have the option to use or not to use AI at work. We are cells in a larger creature. Cells are not supposed to do thinking.
And the reward (or punishment) would be to move to city life or to Western countries. That's a pity. Modern life puts you into a grove to move in. You are a caged animal or a micro-managed worker. There are no problems and no freedom. Can't even have the option to use or not to use AI at work. We are cells in a larger creature. Cells are not supposed to do thinking.
Density/proximity are far better incubators for innovation than people being bored and isolated on farms. Also not sure where the idea that 'freedom' is associated with farms comes from? How free are you if you must wake up at 4am and work for 12 hours to barely make a profit?
There are exceptions. They are notable for being exceptions.
There are exceptions. They are notable for being exceptions.
Independently-owned farms aren't slave factories. Sometimes you'll be doing consecutive months of 13hrs/day labour, sometimes you'll have 75% of the day free, every day, for a few weeks. Guess what those with a low budget and an engineer's mind tend to get up to in their free time.
"Independently-owned farms" are the exception, these days, not the people. Every single one I've ever seen has at least one guy on there that performs miracles with PVC pipe, a TIG welder and spare bits of iron.
"Independently-owned farms" are the exception, these days, not the people. Every single one I've ever seen has at least one guy on there that performs miracles with PVC pipe, a TIG welder and spare bits of iron.
> Sometimes you'll be doing consecutive months of 13hrs/day labour, sometimes you'll have 75% of the day free, every day, for a few weeks.
That depends greatly on the farm in question. I grew up on a dairy farm, and there was no such thing as a break from work unless we hired someone to take care of the cows for us. They are fairly constant in the amount of work you have to put in (I imagine other livestock are similar but that's outside my experience).
That depends greatly on the farm in question. I grew up on a dairy farm, and there was no such thing as a break from work unless we hired someone to take care of the cows for us. They are fairly constant in the amount of work you have to put in (I imagine other livestock are similar but that's outside my experience).
Dairy farming is arguably the single most intensive form of farm/ranch work that there is. It's not really comparable to other stuff.
Freedom as in randomness that was allowed and available in those settings and in those times. I grew up on a farm in the 70's. Observed how mills work. I could simulate and notice a gear error in a complex machine drawing in my engineering class. The teacher had to abandon the class to think it over.
> Density/proximity are far better incubators for innovation than people being bored and isolated on farms.
That might be the case for you.
I do all my best programming when I'm driving a tractor. When I stop, I just need to type it all in.
Or, driving my car, for that matter. I just need to get from here to way over there, it's maybe 90 miles, something like a two and a half hour drive, during which time no-one can phone me, no-one can come up and hand me something that's Clearly My Problem Because It Has An Electrical Connector, no-one can ask me what's wrong with the printer in the facilities office, and I can just sit and quietly think. I don't even have to put up with braying adverts on the local radio station.
That might be the case for you.
I do all my best programming when I'm driving a tractor. When I stop, I just need to type it all in.
Or, driving my car, for that matter. I just need to get from here to way over there, it's maybe 90 miles, something like a two and a half hour drive, during which time no-one can phone me, no-one can come up and hand me something that's Clearly My Problem Because It Has An Electrical Connector, no-one can ask me what's wrong with the printer in the facilities office, and I can just sit and quietly think. I don't even have to put up with braying adverts on the local radio station.
Loneliness and boredom are good ingredients as well. Some physical isolation helps with that. I lived in a neighbourhood where I was the only kid. That made me bored frequently and drove me to habits that still serve me well.
Also, constraints, survival struggle, a bit of wilderness (lack of regulatory reach), forced alertness, exposure to vast variety in the context - they are all ingredients or a green field for innovation. It's like a camping or trekking adventure every day.
The freedom of a farm is that you don't have a boss telling you what to do (if it's your own farm). It's also harder for the government to know what is going on in the middle of nowhere meaning they can't enforce the law as well.
Farm work was grueling, lasted pretty much from dawn till dusk, took an enormous physical toll on the body, and you never know when a bad crop or unfavorable weather might mean you starve.
I'm descended from farm folk. I have relatives living who still are. I'm proud of that heritage, but let's not romanticize things. There's a reason the song doesn't go "How ya gonna keep 'em down in Paree after they've seen the farm?"
I'm descended from farm folk. I have relatives living who still are. I'm proud of that heritage, but let's not romanticize things. There's a reason the song doesn't go "How ya gonna keep 'em down in Paree after they've seen the farm?"
The song goes that way because Paris is attractive to young men compared to the American farms. But being attractive may not mean good. Candy is attractive too, to children. And that hard work in farms doesn't necessarily mean being less happier than your modern life, as happiness is more dependent on expectations than what you have. Paris experience raised expectations for army folks.
Sometimes, I think that the modern education setup (schools and colleges) is a recruiting and training mechanism. Bright kids from all over the country side are filtered and sucked away to work in the modern factories. Same as army recruitment camps that go to rural side, conduct running competitions and take away all the strong youth from villages.
Ofcourse, they sell education as knowledge or refinement as a person. But the real goal is to create a workforce.
Sometimes, I think that the modern education setup (schools and colleges) is a recruiting and training mechanism. Bright kids from all over the country side are filtered and sucked away to work in the modern factories. Same as army recruitment camps that go to rural side, conduct running competitions and take away all the strong youth from villages.
Ofcourse, they sell education as knowledge or refinement as a person. But the real goal is to create a workforce.
> took an enormous physical toll on the body
Just a nitpick, but our bodies are meant for labor. You grow ever stronger and more capable over time. Amish, for an extreme example, work exceptionally hard and eschew most modern medicine and healthcare options, yet live very long and healthy lives with substantially lower rates of cancer and various other disease than the general population. * Sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day, for decades, is what takes an enormous physical toll on the body.
* - I wanted to give a life expectancy here, but it turns out there is no particularly good life expectancy measurement for them. This [1] study is the closest I found, where it looks like the 50% survival rate for men/women who hit at least 30 years of age, is a bit higher than 80 for women, and a bit lower than 80 for men.
[1] - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3526600/
Just a nitpick, but our bodies are meant for labor. You grow ever stronger and more capable over time. Amish, for an extreme example, work exceptionally hard and eschew most modern medicine and healthcare options, yet live very long and healthy lives with substantially lower rates of cancer and various other disease than the general population. * Sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day, for decades, is what takes an enormous physical toll on the body.
* - I wanted to give a life expectancy here, but it turns out there is no particularly good life expectancy measurement for them. This [1] study is the closest I found, where it looks like the 50% survival rate for men/women who hit at least 30 years of age, is a bit higher than 80 for women, and a bit lower than 80 for men.
[1] - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3526600/
As it alludes to in the first paragraph, farmers actually have to do a lot of engineering work.
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Farming in Western countries is the absolute pinnacle of science, technology and yes even business.
The Netherlands even has a world class university for agriculture.
Farmers are not simple minded yokels in touch with nature...
Farmers are not simple minded yokels in touch with nature...
> There are no problems and no freedom.
It's so telling that you have not even considered the possibility of starting your own business -- something that is much easier to do in a city, and which allows you the freedom to use AI as much or as little as you want.
It's so telling that you have not even considered the possibility of starting your own business -- something that is much easier to do in a city, and which allows you the freedom to use AI as much or as little as you want.
What problems are left for starting a business? I see only solutions searching for problems. Maybe come up with a competing solution to an already solved problem?
As a technology startup your root goal would be an exit. So you would work on problem which is in the roadmap for a big company and your wish is, they are not agile enough to build it themselves quickly and would buy out your stuff to beat their competition. So it's kind of contract work, with contract coming after the work is done.
As a technology startup your root goal would be an exit. So you would work on problem which is in the roadmap for a big company and your wish is, they are not agile enough to build it themselves quickly and would buy out your stuff to beat their competition. So it's kind of contract work, with contract coming after the work is done.
You could attempt to produce crops or live stock for less than you can sell them for later.
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Well said.
I love how they call his engineer’s notepad a “tablet.”
The form factor and usage go back quite a ways:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_tablet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_tablet
Yeah.
I used those things (the paper ones) for most of my career. I had stacks of them.
“Tablet” is a valid appellation, but we always called them “pads.”
I used those things (the paper ones) for most of my career. I had stacks of them.
“Tablet” is a valid appellation, but we always called them “pads.”
It was definitely a term, though perhaps not as common as "pad." I only remember that the term was familiar, well before the "tablet" became a digital device.
The original "Tablet PC" announced by Microsoft in 2000-1 was meant to mean "PC in the form of a tablet".
Interesting. I always thought about it in the sense of a "clay tablet" that could only "display" on a single surface, as opposed to a notepad that allowed you to freely flip through pages.
Oh wow! I was just thinking the other day about a similar design to build for my second-hand clothing stores where we have a lot of lint that is constantly clogging HVAC systems that I maintain.
I'd like to create laminar-flow across the floor so all the dust travels to one wall for easy sweeping and also capture dust in a vortex system tucked away in the basement.
I'd like to create laminar-flow across the floor so all the dust travels to one wall for easy sweeping and also capture dust in a vortex system tucked away in the basement.
Interesting article, and he sounds like a clever (and, as the article says) humble guy.
> On the way home from one of those trips, Whitfield had an idea. “He was on an airplane, and he whipped out a tablet and basically drew out the whole schematic of how the clean room should work,” said Whitfield’s son Jim, who was 6 years old at the time. “It was just a simple sketch. It just took a few minutes, and it’s the basic principle that is still used today.”
This was in 1960 and he clearly drew it on paper. So is/was "tablet" a common term for a pad of paper? I've never heard it used in any context other than a slab of stone or a derivation of such.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet#Inscription,_printing,_...
Minor point but struck me as odd.
> On the way home from one of those trips, Whitfield had an idea. “He was on an airplane, and he whipped out a tablet and basically drew out the whole schematic of how the clean room should work,” said Whitfield’s son Jim, who was 6 years old at the time. “It was just a simple sketch. It just took a few minutes, and it’s the basic principle that is still used today.”
This was in 1960 and he clearly drew it on paper. So is/was "tablet" a common term for a pad of paper? I've never heard it used in any context other than a slab of stone or a derivation of such.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet#Inscription,_printing,_...
Minor point but struck me as odd.
It was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chief_tablet
This exact product is referenced quite often in John Kennedy Toole’s hilarious A Confederacy of Dunces, set in New Orleans of the early 1960s. The main character, Ignatius J Reilly, is essentially a neckbeard stereotype.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chief_tablet
This exact product is referenced quite often in John Kennedy Toole’s hilarious A Confederacy of Dunces, set in New Orleans of the early 1960s. The main character, Ignatius J Reilly, is essentially a neckbeard stereotype.
> So is/was "tablet" a common term for a pad of paper?
In drafting it was a pad of drawing or tracing paper.
In drafting it was a pad of drawing or tracing paper.
Also, typically glue bound along the top edge and having a solid backing, as if you took a hardbound book (of blank pages) and ripped off the front cover and spine. Pages could easily be peeled off, if glued at the edge, or torn off if perforated.
Etymonline states: "The meaning 'pad of writing or blotting paper' is by 1880".[1] Also see the variety of meanings listed it the Webster 1913 edition, including: "1. A small table or flat surface. 2. A flat piece of any material on which to write, paint, draw, or engrave; also, such a piece containing an inscription or a picture. 3. Hence, a small picture; a miniature. [Obs.] 4. pl. A kind of pocket memorandum book. [...]".[2] -- No information on the frequency of use, though.
[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/tablet
[2] https://www.websters1913.com/words/Tablet
[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/tablet
[2] https://www.websters1913.com/words/Tablet
I picture it as a legal pad, more or less. If I really think about it, I imagine a "legal pad" as having that very specific paper (lined, with that nice margin), whereas a "tablet" could perhaps be any type of paper bound together in that same way.
I'm not entirely sure where I got these impressions from over the years, though I certainly used to use a lot of legal pads. I still really like stumbling across a nice one in the wild, even if I usually just get them from Amazon nowadays. (Aside: Is it just me, or are legal pads not as good these days as they used to be?)
Anyway, from this bit on Wikipedia about legal pads, it seems like that is one origin story for using "tablet" in this context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notebook#Legal_pad
Notably, from the last sentence of that story:
> ...he glued together a stack of halved sheets of paper, supported by a sheet of cardboard, creating what he called the "Silver City Writing Tablet".
I'm not entirely sure where I got these impressions from over the years, though I certainly used to use a lot of legal pads. I still really like stumbling across a nice one in the wild, even if I usually just get them from Amazon nowadays. (Aside: Is it just me, or are legal pads not as good these days as they used to be?)
Anyway, from this bit on Wikipedia about legal pads, it seems like that is one origin story for using "tablet" in this context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notebook#Legal_pad
Notably, from the last sentence of that story:
> ...he glued together a stack of halved sheets of paper, supported by a sheet of cardboard, creating what he called the "Silver City Writing Tablet".
Looks like paper tablets even predate that 1902 use. This source has newspaper ads for "Pencil Tablets" and "Writing Tablets": bound ruled and un-ruled paper with and without covers from 1894-1895: https://www.kristinholt.com/archives/3205
I wonder if binding at the top was necessary to be called a tablet? Or perforation to easily tear off sheets?
I was looking to see how long ago marble composition notebooks (which are side-bound) were created and what they were called and it looks like they existed in the mid-1800s but I couldn't find any evidence they were called tablets.
I wonder if binding at the top was necessary to be called a tablet? Or perforation to easily tear off sheets?
I was looking to see how long ago marble composition notebooks (which are side-bound) were created and what they were called and it looks like they existed in the mid-1800s but I couldn't find any evidence they were called tablets.
Growing up in the 1980s in suburbs of NYC my elementary school teachers always asked us to get our “tablets” out to work on math.
I remember using "tablets" in math class, but those were small hand-held chalkboards.
It reminds me of the aquarium filter I had as a child in which a plastic grate was placed underneath the gravel and connected air bubblers would create enough of an upward water flow in the corners that anything on the gravel surface would gradually get pulled beneath the plastic grate.
This is still one of the best forms of aquarium filtration. It encourages beneficial bacteria to grow throughout the substrate and they do most of the work. The air bubblers have a bonus side effect of aerating the water for fish an bacteria alike.
Link (pdf) to the issued patent: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/cb/4f/c5/d10b79e...
I wish the article said what they did with the patent. Did everyone using this technology have to license it from Sandia?
If you remember the Intel bunny suit ads, does your back hurt?
The handwriting in that drawing is beautiful!
It looks pretty but it's so low resolution I can barely make out any words. Found a higher res version though (embedded in a PDF, page 7):
https://www.sandia.gov/app/uploads/sites/194/2022/01/GIANTS_...
It's interesting that all lines in the sketch are straight, and circles are perfect, so it seems Whitfield took a ruler and a compass on that plane.
https://www.sandia.gov/app/uploads/sites/194/2022/01/GIANTS_...
It's interesting that all lines in the sketch are straight, and circles are perfect, so it seems Whitfield took a ruler and a compass on that plane.
On page 12 there's an ad for the cleanroom, and one of the selling points is that it would allow cigarette smoking!
> ruler and compass
Or a circle template (rectangular with holes of different sizes). That would aid drawing the small circles, as well as drawing straight edges and right angles. It can be kept in a notebook like a bookmark.
Or a circle template (rectangular with holes of different sizes). That would aid drawing the small circles, as well as drawing straight edges and right angles. It can be kept in a notebook like a bookmark.
> It's interesting that all lines in the sketch are straight, and circles are perfect, so it seems Whitfield took a ruler and a compass on that plane.
Imagine trying to board a plane with a compass nowaday :)
Imagine trying to board a plane with a compass nowaday :)
Is there a vague idea of what percentage of each country's nuclear arsenal would be duds? Prior to or after clean rooms got cleaner?
Too few to make a difference, the US and USSR built and designated additional bombs and missiles to targets to account for anticipated failure rates.
I'm more just curious as to how much difference this made in the failure rate.
Hey, the magic mushroom grow tech credits goes to sir.
Slightly off topic but that lab book made me a bit envious.
I doubt my mental bandwith could cope without org mode and digital formats in general. But that penmanship and the general neatness really shows a focus and an intentionality that makes me feel that something has fallen off the wayside in this digital transition.
I doubt my mental bandwith could cope without org mode and digital formats in general. But that penmanship and the general neatness really shows a focus and an intentionality that makes me feel that something has fallen off the wayside in this digital transition.
> From a personal point of view, I would say to myself ‘I am working in something my dad made.’ Every time I would walk in, I would say, ‘Thanks Dad.’”
As a dad, I should be so lucky as to create something my son will appreciate like that.
Also, Whitfield lived to the age of 92. What a blessing that must have been to his son, to have such a great role model and to have him still in his life for many decades. Maybe it’s just something I think about a lot because I lost both of my parents young.