Background

Dean Kamen was born on April 5, 1951, in Rockville Centre, New York, the United States, to Jack and Evelyn Kamen. His father was a renowned illustrator who worked for Mad, Weird Science, and other EC Comics publications. His mother worked as a teacher. Dean had two brothers, Mitch and Barton, and a sister, Terri. Barton Kamen, who was a clinical professor of pediatrics and pharmacology, passed away on 27 September 2012 at the age of 63.

Education

Kamen began tinkering with gadgets when he was fairly young. He claims that when he was five years old he invented a way to make his bed without running from one side to the other. By his own account, he was a lackluster student, preferring to educate himself on advanced science and engineering topics outside of school. However, despite the fact that he was obviously bright and very curious.

By the time he was a teenager, Kamen was being paid for his inventions, most of which he built in his parents' basement. He was hired by local rock bands and museums to design and install light and sound systems. He was even asked to work on automating the giant ball that is lowered in Times Square each year on New Year's Eve. Before he graduated from high school, Kamen was earning about $60,000 a year, which was more than the salaries of both his parents combined.

After obtaining a high-school degree, Kamen enrolled at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He had already started selling his inventions when he was a teenager. This continued when he was in college, and creating new gadgets became more important to him than attending classes.

It was during his early years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute that Kamen developed the first of his many medical breakthroughs. His older brother, Barton, who was in medical school, commented to him that patients who needed round-the-clock medication were forced to come into the hospital for treatment. Kamen decided to fix the problem.

In 1971, while still an undergraduate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Kamen invented a portable infusion pump, for which he was awarded the first of more than 150 patents he later held in the United States and other countries. In 1976, Kamen dropped out of college to found his first company.

Career

In 1976, Kamen dropped out of college to found his first company, AutoSyringe, to produce and market his insulin pump. The medical community embraced the AutoSyringe, and among scientists Kamen soon gained a reputation as a maverick inventor. In 1982 Kamen sold AutoSyringe to Baxter International, an international health-care company. The sale made him a multimillionaire.

That year he founded DEKA Research & Development Corp., where he built a team to create innovative products. The purpose of this company was to develop radical new technologies and provide research and development expertise for corporate clients.

After founding DEKA, Kamen invented a groundbreaking portable and affordable kidney the dialysis machine that allows diabetics to dialyze at home while they sleep. In 1993, the device earned him the Medical Product of the Year award from Design News and set the stage for his best-known inventions to date: the iBOT, the Segway, the Slingshot, and the Luke Arm.

In 1999 Kamen introduced the IBOT, a device similar to a wheelchair that could climb stairs and stand upright on two wheels. His use of gyroscopic stabilizers on the IBOT led him to develop the Segway, which was unveiled on December 3, 2001. Kamen claimed that the Segway, with its built-in gyroscopes, computer chips, and tilt sensors, would make getting around cities so easy that automobiles would become unnecessary. The device’s champions saw it as an environmentally friendly way to ease traffic as well as to increase productivity, but detractors warned of potential collisions and injuries.

By 2006 specific models had been developed for marketing to law enforcement agencies and golf courses. After a patent infringement dispute in 2015, Kamen’s Segway Corporation was purchased by its Chinese rival Ninebot. The two companies announced at the time that they were uniting under a “strategic alliance” to develop less expensive electric scooters using Segway’s self-balancing technology. Ninebot soon began selling several models of Segway-branded scooters priced at $1,000 or less.

While it never dominated the general consumer market as Kamen had predicted, the Segway has found success in commercial fleet applications. Police officers, mall security guards, warehouses workers, tour guides, and airport maintenance staff are now commonly seen riding Segway scooters. While expectations were high for the invention, it never achieved widespread popularity, and in 2020 production of the Segway ended.

In 2003 Kamen introduced prototypes for an electric generator that could run on cow dung and a water purifier that could process raw sewage. Intended for use in developing countries without centralized sources of power and water, the devices were successfully field-tested in Bangladesh in 2005. In 2007 Kamen debuted a robotic arm prosthesis capable of activities as delicate as scratching the wearer’s nose.

In 2006, Kamen and DEKA developed the DEKA Arm System, codenamed the "Luke Arm," an advanced prosthetic arm named after Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker’s artificial hand. Kamen took on the project after the United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) announced its "Revolutionizing Prosthetics" program intended to drastically improve the quality of life for wounded veterans returning home from the Iraq War.

Offering its users much finer motor control than traditional prosthetic limbs, Kamen’s Luke Arm was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2014. At the time, the FDA stated that the Luke Arm was the first prosthetic arm approved by the agency that "translates signals from a person’s muscles to perform complex tasks."

Unlike traditional prosthetics, the Luke Arm allows its users to carry out multiple powered movements, while its fingers can apply six different user-selectable grip pressures. Today, three configurations of Kamen’s Luke Arm are manufactured and marketed by Mobius Bionics in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Achievements

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  Kamen’s inventions and dedication to science and technology education have garnered him an array of honors. Kamen was awarded a National Medal of Technology by the United States President Bill Clinton in 2000, and in 2005 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
  
  Kamen has received honorary degrees from institutions like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Kettering University, Clarkson University, and the University of Arizona. On November 6, 2009, he became the recipient of the Stevens Honor Award.

Religion

In an interview, Dean Kamen once stated: "I'm not a religious man."

Views

In 1989, Kamen founded FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - a non-profit organization for students ages 6 to 18 to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. According to Kamen, the mission of FIRST is, "To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."

FIRST offers robotics-focused programs for K-12 students worldwide in three age groups, including the FIRST Lego League Jr. for younger elementary school students, the FIRST Tech Challenge for middle and high school students, and the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students. In 2017, FIRST hosted 163 teams from 157 nations in its inaugural Olympics-style robotics competition - the FIRST Global Challenge - at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Similar Global Challenge competitions have since been held in Mexico City in 2018 and Dubai in 2019.

Kamen has embarked on yet another type of mission in recent years with his work to develop a new water treatment system for underdeveloped nations. His energy-efficient system can turn contaminated water into clean water via a distilling process. Kamen maintains that his system has the potential to help solve serious health problems caused by waterborne pathogens around the world.

Quotations: "I think education is not only important, it is the most important thing you can do with your life."

"My biggest failure is I have too many to talk about."

"I don't work on a project unless I believe that it will dramatically improve life for a bunch of people."

"Everybody has to be able to participate in a future that they want to live for. That's what technology can do."

Membership

Kamen is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering, as well as many other national and international engineering organizations.

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  American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering

Personality

Dean Kamen is a licensed pilot, he is the owner of an Embraer Phenom 300 light jet aircraft and three Enstrom helicopters, including a 280FX, a 480, and a 480B. He has set up a hanger in his house and uses the helicopters for commuting. He builds clocks and steam engines as a hobby.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Lots of people talk and dream about changing the world. But inventor Dean Kamen is actually doing it." - CBS News

Connections

Dean Kamen is not married and has no children.

Father:

Jack Kamen

Mother:

Evelyn Kamen

Acquaintance:

Bill Clinton

References

• Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World
  2003