Federico Faggin created the self-aligned MOS silicon-gate technology, which made possible memory chips, CCD image sensors, and the microprocessor. He designed the Intel 4004, 8008, and 8080 microprocessors, as well as the Zilog Z80 and Z8 processors. In 2010, he received the 2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor the United States confers for achievements related to technological progress. He is author of Silicon: From the Invention of the Microprocessor to the New Science of Consciousness, and also Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature. His website is http://www.fagginfoundation.org/