The Lehigh Valley’s history of technological innovation, from the world’s first mass production of transistors to the development of components for the first iPhone, were celebrated recently at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.’s Fall Signature Event.

“It is amazing that so much innovation that surrounds us in our daily lives has been created here in the Lehigh Valley,” said Jill Bennett, Vice President, Xeon® & Networking Engineering Director, Network & Edge Group at Intel®, at the event on Nov. 8 at Iacocca Hall at Lehigh University, which was sponsored by Intel®.

You can read her full remarks here.

"Good afternoon.

What an honor it is to represent Intel here at this fantastic event inspired by Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation and hosted by Lehigh University. My name is Jill Bennett, and I am a Vice President in Intel’s Network & Edge Group. Intel is very excited to sponsor an event that promotes the vast potential of semiconductor development as well as the communications systems and software innovation right here in the Lehigh Valley. 

Working as a professional in the semiconductor industry for 30 years comes with a great pride as well as a great responsibility to carry on the legacy of Bell Laboratories. The Western Electric facility on Union Boulevard opened the first transistor manufacturing line in 1951 over 70 years ago. The Bell Labs microelectronics team that I joined in 1988 has been through many transitions and transformations with each team bringing new focus and specialties as well as spinning out industry experts in everything from semiconductor development to disk drives, to fiber optic devices. It is amazing that so much innovation that surrounds us in our daily lives has been created here in the Lehigh Valley.

Developments like voice switches and T1 Transport, which for decades managed nearly every phone call in the country, had their origins right here in the Lehigh Valley. Standards and products like USB that we still plug into today were developed here. Connectivity like FireWire for Apple computers, Bluetooth, or Read Channel which are state of the art for reading hard disk drives were invented and designed here. Components in the first iPhone had their origin here. I worked on digital signal processors that went into the first digital cellular phones that were built by Nokia and Motorola. And lastly, the Intel cellular network processors that manage your mobile calls, your texts, your applications are engineered right here in Allentown. With more than 15 billion transistors in each of these cellular network processors in Intel’s advanced technology, we say, ‘5G runs on Intel.’

So, the 70-year history from Bell Labs and Western Electric to today is truly inspirational. We’re now here to nurture and further develop that legacy. I look forward to the ways that Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Lehigh University, and Lafayette College, and the various excellent tech schools, colleges, and universities in the area, along with the technology consortium of local companies will reignite the spirit and the focus of technology in the region. The Lehigh Valley will continue to play a significant role in the technology advancement yet to come that will improve people’s lives, productivity, and well-being.

Thank you very much!"