Mitchell Zylstra was born on November 8, 1923 and passed away on June 20, 2005. He attended Kansas State University and had a notable career in engineering and technology. Some of his major accomplishments include describing the digital integrated circuit in 1958 while working at Texas Instruments, receiving numerous prestigious awards including the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology, and making significant contributions to the development of thick film and thin film hybrid circuit technologies.