Gordon Moore is the 2019 recipient of Sigma Xi’s highest honor, the Gold Key Award. The Society’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors present the award to recognize a member’s extraordinary contributions to his or her profession and for carrying out the values in Sigma Xi’s mission—fostering critical innovations to enhance the health of the research enterprise, cultivating integrity in research, or promoting the public understanding of science. The award consists of a medal in the shape of a gold key, the symbol of Sigma Xi.
Moore co-founded Intel Corporation and served as Intel's president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of directors. He devised Moore’s law, a projection that the number of transistors per silicon chip doubles approximately every two years. Moore’s law has guided long-term planning in the semiconductor industry for decades.
Since then, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was established by Moore and his wife to support path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements, and preservation of the San Francisco Bay Area.