Stephanie Kwolek
invented Kevlar, a tough durable material now used to make
bulletproof vests. For years she'd worked on the process at DuPont
and in 1963, she got the polymers or rod-like molecules in fibers
to line up in one direction. This made the material stronger than
others, where molecules were arranged in bundles. In fact, the new
material was as strong as steel! Kwolek's technology also went on
to be used for making suspension bridge cables, helmets, brake
pads, skis, and camping gear.
Patricia Bath, MD - Patented in 1988, a new method of removing
cataracts. The medical laser instrument made the procedure more
accurate and is termed the cataract Laserphacoprobe. As a laser
scientist and inventor, she has 5 patents on the laser cataract
surgery device covering the United States, Canada, Japan, and
Europe.
What is the Blissymbol Printer? It's a software program invented
by a Canadian 12-year-old in the mid-1980s. Rachel Zimmerman's
printer enables those with severe physical disabilities like
cerebral palsy, to communicate. The user records their thoughts by
touching symbols on a page or board through the use of a special
touch pad, the printer then translates the symbols into a written
language. Zimmerman's system started as a project for a school
science fair, but ended up competing and winning a silver medal in
a nationwide contest, as well as gaining her the YTV Television
Youth Achievement Award.
Before the paper bag, the first version was shaped like an
envelope, with no flat bottom. Margaret Knight created a machine
to cut, fold, and glue square bottoms to paper bags and gained a
patent for it in 1871, but not without a lawsuit against a fellow
who stole her idea. His defense was "a woman could never design
such an innovative machine," but she had the drawings to prove the
invention was hers and she won the case. Knight's career with
inventions started at age 12, when she developed a stop-motion
device that immediately brought industrial machines to a halt if
something was caught in them. Over the course of her lifetime, she
was awarded over 26 patents.
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