Showing 76 - 100 of 251 results
Herbert W. Boyer
Genetic Engineering
Herb Boyer was with the University of California, San Francisco when he began investigating DNA with Stan Cohen. Their experiments marked the…
Seymour Cray
Supercomputer
Seymour Cray unveiled the CRAY-1 in 1976, considered the first supercomputer. Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Cray was interested in chemistry and…
Robert H. Dennard
Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
Robert Heath Dennard invented one-transistor Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), which significantly increased computer memory density while…
Maxime Faget
Space Capsule Design
Max Faget conceived and designed the first space capsule, Mercury, from which the designs for the Gemini capsule and the Apollo command and service…
Thomas J. Fogarty
Embolectomy Catheter
In 1969, Thomas Fogarty received a patent for his Fogarty® balloon embolectomy catheter, which has since become an industry standard. The device…
Henry Ford
Transmission Mechanism
Pioneering automotive engineer Henry Ford held many patents on automotive mechanisms. He is best remembered, however, for helping devise the factory…
Thomas Seavey Hall
Improvement in Electrical Signals
The 1860s and 1870s were pivotal decades for improving safety in the railroad industry. Many of these innovations were invented by Thomas Seavey Hall…
Charles Franklin Kettering
Electrical Ignition System
Charles Franklin Kettering invented the first electrical ignition system and the self-starter for automobile engines and the first practical engine-…
Irwin M. Lachman
Ceramic Substrate in Catalytic Converters
Working at Corning, Irwin Lachman co-invented the ceramic substrate found in virtually all catalytic converters. Catalytic converters provide cleaner…
Clair Lake
Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I)
Already a prolific inventor at IBM in May 1939, Clair Lake was chosen to be chief engineer for the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also…
Robert S. Ledley
CT Scan
Robert S. Ledley invented the whole-body CT (computerized tomographic) diagnostic X-ray scanner. Born in New York City, Ledley earned a D.D.S. from…
Theodore Harold Maiman
Laser
Physicist Theodore Harold Maiman invented the first operable laser. Born in Los Angeles, California, Maiman in his teens earned college money by…
Thomas Midgley, Jr.
Ethyl Gasoline
Thomas Midgley solved the problem of engine knock by creating tetraethyl lead gasoline. His gasoline allowed high performance engines to operate…
Ed Morgan
Tubular Steel Track Roller Coaster
Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon set the standard for roller coaster design technology when they engineered the world’s first tubular steel track roller…
Louis Marius Moyroud
Photo Composing Machine
Louis Marius Moyroud and Rene Higonnet developed the first practical phototypesetting machine. This, along with Merganthaler's Linotype machine, is…
Nicolaus August Otto
Gas-Motor Engine
Engineer Nicolaus August Otto invented the first practical alternative to the steam engine. Born in Holzhausen, Germany, Otto built his first gas…
Rebecca Richards-Kortum
Medical Devices for Low-Resource Settings
Rebecca Richards-Kortum develops low-cost, high-performance medical technologies for poor communities where standard medical equipment isn't an…
Ivan E. Sutherland
Display Windowing by Clipping
In 1963, Ivan Sutherland engineered a revolution in computer graphics with his highly interactive program Sketchpad. It enabled users to design and…
Charles Stark Draper
Stabilizing Gyroscope
Aeronautical engineer and university professor Charles Stark Draper developed gyroscope systems that stabilized and balanced gunsights and bombsights…
Rodney D. Bagley
Ceramic Substrate in Catalytic Converters
Rodney Bagley was on the Corning team that created the ceramic substrate inside catalytic converters. His work was instrumental in allowing the…
Bradford Parkinson
Global Positioning System
Bradford Parkinson developed the Global Positioning System, a locational and navigational system that allows users to determine their location with…
Valdemar Poulsen
Magnetic Wire Recorder
Danish engineer Valdemar Poulsen demonstrated magnetic recording in 1898. While working at the Copenhagen Telephone Company, Poulsen began…
Robert A. Moog
Moog Synthesizer
In 1964, inventor Bob Moog introduced the first complete voltage controlled modular synthesizer, an instrument capable of producing a wide variety of…
Charles W. Tyson
Fluid Catalytic Cracking
Charles "Wes" Tyson and his three co-inventors at Exxon Research & Engineering Co. (ER&E), called the Four Horsemen, were part of the team…
Amos Joel, Jr.
Mobile Communication System
Amos Joel pioneered the system for cell phones of switching communication links from one cell region to another in response to movement, while…