1951: Dean Kamen, a prolific inventor referred to by Smithsonian magazine as "the Pied Piper of Technology," is born in Rockville Centre, New York.
Kamen holds hundreds of patents, many for innovative medical devices that are transforming health care. He was still in college when he invented the wearable infusion pump, which has applications in such diverse medical fields as chemotherapy, neonatology and endocrinology. At 25, he founded a company to manufacture infusion pumps, and also devised the first portable insulin pump for diabetics to use.
He is also a tireless booster of technology. In 1989, Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which sponsors various robotics competitions, among other activities, to expose technology to a younger generation.
But among them Kamen is probably best known as the inventor of the Segway transportation system, those little personal scooters that have enjoyed a certain vogue in recent years.
Happy 60th, Mr. Pied Piper.
Source: Ideafinder.com
Photo: Inventor Dean Kamen demonstrates his Segway Human Transporter. (Associated Press/Suzanne Plunkett)
This article first appeared on Wired.com April 5, 2007.
See Also:
- Dean Kamen, Breakout Artist
- Dean Kamen's Robot Arm Grabs More Publicity
- Colbert and Kamen Solve the World's Water Problems
- Dean Kamen Explains Why He Started the FIRST Robotics Competition
- Complete Wired.com coverage of Dean Kamen
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