i3 - November/December 2017 - 42

Dean Kamen
SEGWAY
PUBLISHER,
INVENTOR;
TWICE MAGAZINE
FOUNDER, (1947
FIRST -0000)
(1951 -)

ean Kamen is much more
than just the inventor of
the Segway, a personal
transportation scooter. Granted
more than 440 patents, he is
one of the world's most prolific
inventors and entrepreneurs, and
a tireless advocate for science
and technology.
In addition to the Segway,
Kamen has developed a plethora
of breakthrough medical devices
and technologies to help supply clean water and energy in
developing countries as well as
founding FIRST (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science
and Technology), which is
designed to promote student
involvement in science, technology and engineering.
Kamen was born April 5, 1951,
in Long Island, NY. His father,
Jack, was an illustrator for various
comics such as Mad, Tales from
the Crypt and Weird Science. He
gave his son a memorable piece
of advice: "Figure out what you
love. Then figure out how to build
a career doing it."
What Kamen found a love
for was technology. While he
was in high school, he began
developing a drug infusion pump
that would shake up how doctors
at Ivy League research hospitals
administered chemotherapy
to babies.
After high school, Kamen
attended Worchester Polytechnic
Institute in Massachusetts. But
instead of concentrating on the
curriculum, Kamen spent five
years in his college dorm room

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42

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017

Dean Kamen created the
Segway and iBOT along with
innovative medical devices
and technologies. He also founded
FIRST to promote student
involvement in science, technology
and engineering.

creating the first wearable drug
infusion pump, now widely used
in chemotherapy, neonatology
and endocrinology.
In 1976, Kamen founded his
first company, AutoSyringe, to
manufacture and market the
pumps. In 1982, Kamen founded
DEKA Research & Development
to develop his own inventions
and provide R&D for corporate
clients. Kamen led DEKA's
creation of the HomeChoice
portable home dialysis machine
along with multiple other
breakthrough medical devices
and technologies. Kamen also
used his medical device pump

and infusion technologies to help
Coca-Cola develop Freestyle, the
now-familiar movie theater soda
machine that can dispense more
than 100 different soda varieties.
At DEKA, Kamen also
developed the Slingshot water
purifier, which can purify more
than 250,000 liters of water per
year regardless of where the
water originated or how dirty it is.
A Slingshot is packed inside the
Ekocenter, a "downtown in a box"
shipping container developed
by Kamen and Coca-Cola
and designed to be dropped
into underdeveloped villages.
Inside the red container is a

solar-powered, web-connected
bodega filled with canned food,
toilet paper, cooking oil, first-aid
supplies and even a TV. More
than 2,000 Slingshots and
Ekocenters have been distributed
in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
In 1989, Kamen founded FIRST,
which annually motivates more
than 400,000 students ages six
to 18 in more than 80 countries
and provides more than $20
million in scholarships. Another
breakthrough was Kamen's iBOT,
a battery-powered, six-wheeled,
self-balancing multi-terrain
wheelchair that enables users
to climb stairs, raise themselves
upright and perform other
functions able-bodied people
take for granted. But for Kamen,
iBOT didn't go far enough.
Kamen figured he could use
iBOT's self-balancing technology
to create a more fun device
for everyone, a "super scooter"
he called the Segway. It was
unveiled in December 2001.
Segways operate on electric
motors, a series of gyroscopes
and hundreds of sensors, and
are now used by police, security
officials, postal and emergency
medical personnel, as well as
tourists and a growing number of
consumers.
Kamen has received a plethora
of awards including the National
Medal of Technology in 2000, the
Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002, and
was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.

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