Bob Pease, American integrated circuit engineer died he was , 70.

Robert A. Pease was an analog integrated circuit design expert and technical author died he was , 70.. He designed several very successful "best-seller" integrated circuits, many of them in continuous production for multiple decades. These include the LM331 voltage to frequency converter, and the LM337 adjustable voltage regulator.

(August 22, 1940 – June 18, 2011)

Life and career

Pease was born on August 22, 1940 in Rockville, Connecticut.^[4][5] He attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, and subsequently obtained a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) degree from MIT in 1961.
He started work in the early 1960s at George A. Philbrick Researches (GAP-R). GAP-R pioneered the first reasonable-cost, mass-produced op amp: the K2-W. At GAP-R, Pease developed many high-performance op amps, built with discrete solid-state components.
In 1976, Pease moved to National Semiconductor Corporation (NSC) as a designer and applications engineer, where he began designing analog monolithic integrated circuits, as well as design reference circuits using these devices. He had advanced to staff scientist by the time of his departure in 2009.^[6] During his tenure at NSC, he began writing a popular continuing monthly column entitled "Pease Porridge" in Electronic Design Magazine about his experiences in the world of electronic design and application.^[7]
Pease was the author of eight books, including Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, and held 21 patents.^[8]
His other interests included hiking and biking in remote places, and working on his old Volkswagen Beetle, which he often mentioned in his columns.^[9] Pease's writing was "strongly opinionated, but he could communicate with a wry sense of humor that endeared him to readers whether they agreed with him or not".^[1][10][11]

Death

Pease was killed in the crash of his 1969 Volkswagen Beetle, on 18 June 2011.^[13][14][15] He was leaving a gathering in memory of Jim Williams, who was another well-known analog circuit designer, a technical author, and a renowned staff engineer working at Linear Technology. Pease was 70 years old, and was survived by his wife, two sons, and three grand-children.^[16]
The sudden passing of Bob Pease triggered a small flood of remembrances and tributes from fellow technical writers, practicing engineers, and electronics hardware hacking enthusiasts.^{[17][18][10][13]}

Publications (partial)

• Troubleshooting Analog Circuits (EDN Series for Design Engineers) (1991) Newnes ISBN 978-0750694995 — An industry standard bench-top reference book for troubleshooting (and designing) analog circuits
• How to Drive into Accidents - And How Not to (1998) Pease Pub ISBN 978-0965564816 — An idiosyncratic, entertaining, and insightful book on safe driving techniques, written for novices and experienced drivers alike

 

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