DEAN KAMEN Biography - Pioneers, Explorers & inventors

 
 

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DEAN KAMEN

Name:  Dean L. Kamen                                                                   
Born: (April 5, 1951)                                                                 
Died:                                                                                 
                                                                                       
                                                                                       
Dean L. Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American entrepreneur and inventor.           
Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute,       
but dropped out before graduating. His father is Jack Kamen, an illustrator of         
Weird Science and other EC Comics.                                                     
                                                                                       
Kamen is probably most well-known to the public from the publicity surrounding         
the product that eventually became known as the Segway HT, an electric, self-balancing 
human transporter with a complex, computer-controlled gyroscopic stabilization         
and control system that keeps the device balanced on two horizontally-placed           
wheels and controlled by moving body weight. The machine's development was the         
object of much speculation and hype after segments of a book quoting Steve Jobs       
and other notable IT visionaries espousing its society-revolutionising potential       
were leaked in January 2001.                                                           
                                                                                       
Kamen has worked extensively on a project involving Stirling engine designs,           
attempting to create a machine that would generate power while serving as a           
water purification system. He hopes the project will help improve living               
standards in developing countries.