tiuiifc MODERN AMERICA From the Microwave to the Mouse

Text by David E. Brown Foreword by Lester C. Thurow Introductions by James Burke

A Publication of the Lemelson-MIT Program for Invention and Innovation

The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England Foreword: Lester C. Thurow viii Introduction: James Burke 2

MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE Introduction 4

Raymond Damadian: MRI scanner, magnetic resonance imaging (1977) Thomas Fogarty: balloon embolectomy catheter (1961) 12 Wilson Creatbatch: implantable cardiac pacemaker (1958) 18 Dean Kamen: portable medication technology (1970s) 24 Mary-Claire King: advances in the treatment of breast cancer (1990) 30 Robert Langer: biomedical applications of polymers (1980s) 34 Rosalyn Yalow: RIA, radioimmunoassay (1959) 38

CONSUMER PRODUCTS Introduction 44

Leo Baekeland: Bakelite, the first modern plastic (1907) 46 Harold "Doc" Edgerton: stop-action photography (1931) 52 Philo T. Farnsworth: electronic television (1927) 58 Stephanie Kwolek: Kevlar (1964) 62 Jerome Lemelson: apparatus for driving tape in a cartridge (1972) 68 Jacob Rabinow: self-regulating clock (1954) 74 Percy Spencer: microwave oven (1947) 80 TRANSPORTATION Introduction 84

Ole Evinrude: outboard boat motor (1907) 86 Henry Ford: assembly line (1913) 90 Robert Coddard: liquid-fueled rocket (1926) 94 Paul MacCready: human-powered airplane (1977) 100 Carrett Morgan: traffic signal (1923) 106 Elmer Ambrose Sperry: gyrocompass (1911) 112

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT Introduction 118

George Washington Carver: industrial applications for agricultural products (1910s) 120 Carl Djerassi: nontoxic pest-control products (1960s) 124 Sally Fox: naturally colored cotton (1989) 128 Buckminster Fuller: geodesic dome (1950) 134 Ashok Cadgil: ultraviolet water purification system (1993) 140 Stanford Ovshinksy: mass production of photovoltaic cells (1983) 144 John Todd: ecosystems for combating pollution (1984) 148

COMPUTING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS Introduction 154

Nolan Bushnell: video game (1971) 156 Douglas Engelbart: computer mouse (1968) 162 Al Cross: walkie-talkie (1937) 168 Erna Schneider Hoover: computerized telephone switching system (1965) 172 Grace Murray Hopper: computer compiler (1952) 178 Raymond Kurzweil: optical reading machine for the blind (1976) 182 Carver Mead: very-large-scale integrated circuits (1971) 188 Steve Wozniak: personal computer (1976) 194

Sources and Further Reading 198 Index 201 Acknowledgments 207 Photo Credits 208