The traitorous eight are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in 1957. William Shockley had in 1956 recruited a group of young PhD graduates with the goal to develop and produce new semiconductor devices. While Shockley had received a Nobel Prize in Physics and was an experienced researcher and teacher, his managing of the group created harsh working conditions. He chose a strategy for circuit design that failed and created an intolerable working atmosphere.[notes 2] The group of PhD graduates hired demanded that Shockley be replaced.