Robert Langer, a MIT biomedical engineer, is one of the inventors who will be honored at the White House today. image credit: Kannair
What are the top inventors in the U.S. up to?
President Obama
is recognizing the contributions of a handful of inventors at the White
House today. What follows is a list of a few of the standout
innovations and the inspiring people behind them.
Bioengineered renewable fuels. Frances
Arnold, a California Institute of Technology professor of chemical
engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry at California Institute of
Technology, conducts research on protein engineering and protein
recombination. Her chemical engineering research has implications for
environmentally friendly technology, allowing for the production of
fuels and chemicals from renewable resources with lower carbon-dioxide
emissions.
Moon-based observatory. George Carruthers of the
Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., is best known for
developing the first moon-based space observatory, an ultraviolet camera
sent to the moon with the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. He started
building telescopes and model rockets from an early age and has become
known for his community outreach to inspire African-American youth to be
excited about technology.
Artificial skin. Robert Langer, a Massachusetts
Institute of Technology biomedical engineer, is most famous for his work
on new and different ways to administer drugs to patients. He has 810
issued and pending patents worldwide for his work in pharmaceutical,
chemical, biotechnology and medical device technology. Langer’s research
has led to the development of new tissues like artificial skin for
burn victims.
Portable oxygen. Norman McCombs is best known for
inventing the portable medical oxygen concentrator, an electrically
driven appliance that delivers oxygen on demand. He had been Senior Vice
President of AirSep Corp. in Buffalo, N.Y., which was acquired by Chart
Industries Inc. Patients with chronic lung diseases depend on portable
sources of oxygen and the 4.5 pound, battery-operated oxygen device has
been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration allowing those
dependent on oxygen to fly on planes where they once weren’t.
LASIK eye surgery. Gholam Peyman of Arizona Retinal
Specialists is the retinal surgeon who invented LASIK eye surgery, which
corrects the vision of nearsighted patients. Peyman holds more than
100 patents for a variety of medical devices and surgical techniques.
Energy efficiency. Art Rosenfeld, is a guest senior
scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a renowned
energy scientist known as an ambassador for promoting energy efficiency
innovation. He had been part of the research group that won a Nobel
Prize in the 1960s for discovering subatomic particles. In the wake of
the 1974 OPEC oil embargo, Rosenfeld switched his focus to energy
conservation. He has served as a senior advisor to the Department of
Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
on President Clinton’s National Science and Technology Council and
twice on the California Energy Commission.
Rheumatoid arthritis treatment: Jan Vilcek is a
professor of microbiology at New York University’s Langone Medical
Center and one of the inventors of the rheumatoid arthritis drug
Remicade. More than 2 million patients have been treated with Remicade.
What is the most inspiring invention you have heard about lately? Leave a comment below and let us know.
SOURCE: www.entrepreneur.com
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