The Noyce Foundation was created by the Noyce family in 1990 to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Robert N. Noyce, inventor of the integrated circuit which fueled the personal computer revolution and gave Silicon Valley its name. Although he was an individual of daunting talents and intellect who was honored by two Presidents as well as his academic and industry peers around the world, Bob Noyce also remained a humble and approachable man who believed fervently in democracy. In everything the Foundation undertakes, we are committed to promoting the qualities that Bob Noyce embodied: optimism, creativity, risk taking, and determination.
Because of Bob’s interest and background in science, the Foundation’s original purpose was to increase the numbers of students at every stage along the K-12 education pipeline who have the fundamental skills, knowledge, and interest to pursue further study leading to a career in science or technology. Most of our work is focused on supporting robust professional development for teachers of math, science, and literacy. We also support development of school leadership.
In addition to the Foundation’s continual push to improve teaching and learning in the content areas of science, math, and literacy, we have also begun to work in the education policy arena to support our other work. Our current policy interests reside mainly in the states of California and Massachusetts. Along with addressing a wide variety of other issues, we strive to provide policymakers with compelling research-based evidence about the link between professional development and student achievement in order to influence decisions regarding investments in professional development and education.
For more information about Robert Noyce, see The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley, a biography by Leslie Berlin published in 2005.