The IEEE History Committee selected the book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology as the winner of the 2024 IEEE William and Joyce Middleton Electrical Engineering History Award.

Authored by economic historian Chris Miller, Ph.D., Professor of International History at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, Chip War chronicles the decades-long battle to control microchip technology within a fiercely competitive global industry. Lauded as one of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2023, Chip War examines the rise of the semiconductor industry and America’s efforts to remain on the cutting-edge of semiconductor technology – considered “the new oil” on which modern society relies – amid heated competition from China, Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and other formidable and heavily-invested players.

“I’m honored that Chip War has received the 2024 IEEE William and Joyce Middleton Electrical Engineering History Award,” said Dr. Miller, who is also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The American Interest. “I tried to tell the story of the individuals who produced the advances in semiconductors that today undergird nearly all modern technology, alongside the broad economic and political forces that shaped the development of the chip industry. I hope the book has helped illustrate the drama and the significance of the semiconductor industry and its impact on modern history.”

Established in 2014 by a gift from the estates of longtime IEEE leader William W. Middleton and his wife Joyce F. Middleton in the form of a bequest to the IEEE Foundation, the Middleton Award annually recognizes the author of a book (published within the previous three years) on the history of an IEEE-related technology that both exemplifies exceptional scholarship and reaches beyond academic communities towards a broad public audience.

In making its decision, the IEEE History Committee found that Chip War both promoted the preservation and dissemination of information about the history of an IEEE field of interest and fulfilled the goals of the Middleton Award across a wide range of IEEE technologies. 

The recognition carries a prize of US$2,000.