Jean Louis Le Gall (1924 – 2022)
Jean Louis Le Gall was a self-made man in every sense. Born in 1924 on a small farm in Brittany, France, much of his youth was spent under the cloud of WWII. He played a part in the French Resistance and after the war, joined the French army in French Indochina, where he spent 3 years as a morse code operator. After completing his military service, with only a third-grade education and fifty dollars to his name, he left his native France for New York City at the age of 29 to embark on a new life.
After finding work, Jean enrolled in English classes and quickly became proficient with his new language. He found work as a server in cafés and later in renowned restaurants, where he was recognized for excellence. During this time, he completed his high school equivalency diploma after which he enrolled at the City College of New York where he earned his BS diploma in Solid State Physics. Jean then joined Transitron Electronics in Boston, where he met and married his wife, Micheline. He also became a proud US citizen.
In 1962, Jean and Micheline moved to Palo Alto, California, where Jean went to work in the R&D division at Fairchild Semiconductor. He studied in the evenings and received his MS in Solid State Electronics from San Jose State University. Jean retired in 1997 from Philips Semiconductors (formerly Signetics) after a 35-year career marked with accomplishment and achievement.
Jean and Micheline encouraged, enabled and inspired their two daughters to pursue careers in STEM; both daughters achieved advanced degrees, one in engineering, the other in cell biology.
Other Affiliations: Jean served as president of the “Ingenieurs et Scientifiques de France (ISF)” Bay Area chapter for 25 years; he was recognized by the French government for his leadership and was awarded the “Croix de Chevalier de L’Ordre Nationale du Merite” in 1975.
SWE: Although Jean was not directly involved with SWE, his daughter was a SWE member at the Georgia Institute of Technology throughout her undergraduate and graduate programs; she was grateful to receive several SWE scholarships during her studies.
Scholarship: The Jean Louis Le Gall Memorial Scholarship was established in 2023 by his daughters in his honor.
Number Available: 1
Class: Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate
Major: Any
Amount: $4000
Minimum GPA 3.0/4.0
