News Join our Community of 625,000+ Engineers Register News Historical Engineers: John Bardeen, Creator of the Transistor and Theory of Superconductivity February 19, 2021 by Luke James Awarded the Nobel Prize twice, John Bardeen is often recognized as one of the founders of the first transistor and the theory of superconductivity. John Bardeen—one of history’s most significant engineers you might have never heard of—was one of only a few individuals awarded the Nobel Prize twice, and the first scientist to win two awards in physics. Bardeen first won the Nobel Prize in 1956, sharing it with colleagues William Shockley and Walter Brattain, for the invention of the transistor.