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CEO, Stratasys Inc.
In 1989, Scott Crump invented and patented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) - a technology that uses an extrusion process to generate three-dimensional models. Stratasys Inc., the company Crump started to develop his technology, has since become a leader in the rapid prototyping industry. Today the company holds more than 175 granted and pending patents focused on prototyping and related technologies. Crump is a registered professional engineer. | |
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CEO, iRobot
Robotics have only recently begun to shed their science fiction image and make real in-roads into the home, and no one is more responsible for that newfound success than Colin Angle. Angle, CEO of iRobot, is the brains behind the popular Roomba home vacuum cleaner, which has surprised experts in the appliance field by hitting the two-million mark in sales. Angle, who holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a masters in computer science from MIT, has also designed behavior-controlled rovers for use on the surface of Mars and has carved out a business niche for navigation robots that tackle dangerous missions, such as disarming bombs. | |
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Institute Professor, MIT
Chemical engineer Dr. Robert Langer is an Institute Professor at MIT who has made numerous significant technological breakthroughs at the intersection of biotechnology and materials science through his Langer Lab. His most important contribution is the development of the polymeric systems that allow medical implants, notably coronary stents, to release drugs on a time-released basis inside the human body. He's also doing amazing work on shape memory polymers for medical applications as well as polymer scaffolds that could be deployed inside a human body to build new organs. | |
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Physician, Chicago Rehabilitation Institute
A physician with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, Todd Kuiken has performed the seemingly impossible task of creating an artificial limb that enables wearers to feel. Kuiken, who has worked on the concept for more than 20 years, has enabled test patients to feel the touch of other human beings on their artificial hands, and is working on enabling them to use their hands to simultaneously squeeze and feel. | |
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Founder, SawStop LLC
Gass, a lawyer with a Ph.D. in physics, shocked the power tool industry by developing a skin-sensing table saw that potentially could prevent thousands of woodworkers from losing fingers every year. After giving up a lucrative job as a patent attorney to start a barn-based saw business, Gass has spent the last seven years petitioning the Consumer Products Safety Commission and battling with industry heavyweights over adoption of the technology. | |
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SVP Industrial Design, Apple Computer
Ives, principal designer of the iMac, iPod and iPhone, is listed as one of four inventors on the Apple patent granted for the process March 1. The original iMac was jointly designed by Ives and Steve Jobs and is credited with helping save Apple from bankruptcy. Apple spends 10-15 percent of its design time on concept, significantly more than other computer companies. The design team at Apple has significant clout and creates strong, simple designs that give Apple products a unique family look. They often throw engineering rules to the wind to meet design goals. Example: They have disregarded requirements for draft in favor of a box look that creates a distinctive Apple feel. Apple also makes great use of suppliers' unique manufacturing capabilities. One example: Apple uses double-shot molding, a close relative of two-shot molding that places clear plastics over colored plastics, often creating a back-lit feel. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic. | |
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Technology and Business Development Manager, DuPont
Kurian is leading the drive at DuPont to develop engineering polymers that are made, at least in part, from sustainable resources, specifically corn. DuPont is commercializing a process that derives a product called Bio-PDO from corn sugar using a patented fermentation process involving engineered organisms. DuPont is now beta testing a new family of high-performance thermoplastic resins and elastomer products made with the renewable feedstock. Kurian says the new polymers will actually have improved performance profiles compared to many competing polymers. Applications will include automotive, appliances and connectors. Kurian, a degreed engineer, has a Ph.D in polymer science. | |
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CEO, Dyson Vacuum Cleaners
An inventor since college, James Dyson set out to manufacture his own vacuum cleaner in June 1993, when he opened a research center and factory near his home in England. After years of effort and thousands of prototypes, Dyson came up with the Dyson Cyclone, the first vacuum cleaner that didn't lose suction. Dyson's vacuum, now sold in 22 countries, almost wasn't made due to patent fees and legal costs incurred by Dyson as he was forced to defend his invention against patent infringement. In 1999, Hoover UK tried to imitate Dyson and he was back in court again; 18 months later, he finally won a victory against Hoover UK for patent infringement. In March 2007, Dyson released yet another innovation: the Dyson Slim, a lightweight version of its Cyclone technology. | |