National Inventors Hall of Fame Welcomes 2006 Inductees

    AKRON, Ohio, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 5 & 6, 2006, the National
 Inventors Hall of Fame welcomes its 34th class of inductees. Receiving the
 honor for 2006 are the inventors of items such as the intravascular stent,
 the helium-neon laser, and the architecture for the modern day Internet.
 The 2006 group includes eight living inventors whose innovations have had a
 profound effect on the day to day lives of millions of Americans.
     Formal induction ceremonies for the living inductees take place on
 Saturday, May 6th. The inductees and their inventions include:
      - Willard Boyle, George Smith:  Charge-coupled device
      - Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn:  Internet Protocol
      - Robert Gore:  ePTFE, known by the GORE-TEX(R) brand name
      - Ali Javan:  Helium-neon laser
      - Robert Langer, Jr.:  Controlled drug delivery
      - Julio Palmaz:  Intravascular stent
     Another group of inventors will receive posthumous recognition at a
 ceremony held on May 5th. They include innovators such as Dale Kleist,
 Games Slayter and John Thomas of Owens Corning who created fiberglass,
 Harvey Firestone who developed pneumatic rubber tires and Gregory Pincus,
 inventor of the contraceptive pill. Many inductees spanning the 18th and
 19th centuries are being recognized for a diverse array of inventions. From
 Josephine Cochran's dishwasher and Joseph Glidden's barbed wire to Birdsill
 Holly Jr.'s modern day fire hydrant and Peter Cooper's steam locomotive,
 these innovations had a major impact on everyday life when they were first
 introduced to society. The complete list of inventors receiving posthumous
 recognition can be found at the Hall of Fame's website,
 www.invent.org/2006induction.
     In addition to this year's new class of inductees, the National
 Inventors Hall of Fame also recognizes two Lifetime Achievement Award
 recipients. This year, the winners are John Ong, former United States
 Ambassador and former Chairman and CEO of BF Goodrich Company, and Michael
 Kirk, Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law
 Association (AIPLA).
     Inventors may be nominated by anyone for induction into the Hall of
 Fame, but they must hold a U.S. patent to be considered. The nominee's
 invention must have contributed to the welfare of society and have promoted
 the progress of science and the useful arts. The Selection Committee,
 comprised of representatives from national science and technology
 organizations, reviews all nominations.
     The not-for-profit National Inventors Hall of Fame is the premier
 organization in America dedicated to honoring and fostering creativity and
 invention. Each year a new class of inventors is inducted into the Hall of
 Fame in recognition of their patented inventions that make human, social,
 and economic progress possible. Founded in 1973 by the U.S. Patent and
 Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law
 Association, the Hall's permanent home is Akron, Ohio, where the inventors
 in the Hall are honored and from where it administers its national
 programs, including Camp Invention(R), Club Invention(R), and the
 Collegiate Inventors Competition(R).
 
 

SOURCE National Inventors Hall of Fame