#bell-labs

#bell-labs

Bell Labs, the once-famed research arm of AT&T, celebrated the centennial of its founding last year. In its heyday, starting in the 1940s, the lab created a cascade of inventions, including the transistor, information theory and an enduring computer software language. The labs' digital DNA is in our smartphones, social media and chatbot conversations. Every hour of your day has a bit of Bell Labs in it, observed Jon Gertner, author of The Idea Factory, a history of the storied research center.

The charge coupled device (CCD) was invented by George E. Smith and Willard Boyle during a brainstorming session at Bell Labs in October 1969, stemming from their goal to design a memory device.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Bell Labs is the birthplace of many of the modern world's most transformative technologies. The transistor, UNIX, information theory, and cellular technology all originated from the global R&D network that is now part of Nokia.