Dean Kamen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dean Kamen
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Kamen at Whiteman Air Force Base on April 26, 2016
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Dean Lawrence Kamen
April 5, 1951 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Invention of the iBot Wheelchair, the Segway and founder of FIRST North Dumpling Island |
| Awards | Hoover Medal (1995) Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment (1999) |
Dean Lawrence Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is famous for inventing the Segway and the iBOT wheelchair. He also started a non-profit group called FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Dean Kamen holds more than 1,000 patents for his inventions.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Dean Kamen was born on Long Island, New York. His father, Jack Kamen, was an artist who drew for magazines like Mad. Even as a teenager, Dean was earning money for his ideas. Local bands and museums paid him to build special light and sound systems. He was making a lot of money before he even finished high school!
He went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for college. But in 1976, he left before graduating. He had been working on advanced research for an insulin pump called AutoSyringe for five years.
Career and Inventions
Dean Kamen is best known for creating the Segway PT. This is an electric, self-balancing vehicle that moves when you lean your body. It has two parallel wheels and uses a computer-controlled gyroscope to stay upright. When it first came out, many people thought it would change the world!
Kamen was already a successful inventor before the Segway. His company, Auto Syringe, made and sold the first drug infusion pump. Another of his companies, DEKA, has patents for technology used in portable dialysis machines. They also developed an insulin pump, which was based on his drug infusion pump.
DEKA also created the iBOT, an all-terrain electric wheelchair. This wheelchair uses many of the same balancing technologies found in the Segway.
Dean Kamen has also worked on Stirling engine designs. He wanted to create two machines: one to generate power and another called the Slingshot. The Slingshot is a water purification system. He hopes these inventions will help improve life in developing countries. A film called SlingShot was released in 2014, showing his efforts to use his water purifier to solve the world's water problems.
He also co-invented a device that uses compressed air. This device could launch a person into the air. It was designed to quickly get SWAT teams or other emergency workers to the roofs of tall buildings. In 2009, Kamen said that DEKA was working on new solar power inventions.
Kamen and DEKA also developed the DEKA Arm System, also known as the "Luke". This is a prosthetic arm replacement. It gives users much more control over their movements than older prosthetic limbs. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2014.
FIRST: Inspiring Young Minds
In 1989, Dean Kamen started FIRST. This organization aims to get students excited about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
In 1992, working with MIT Professor Emeritus Woodie Flowers, Kamen created the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). This competition grew into a huge international event. By 2020, it had over 3,600 teams and more than 91,000 students!
FIRST organizes robotics competitions for students from kindergarten to 12th grade:
- FIRST LEGO League Discover for ages 4–6.
- FIRST LEGO League Explore for younger elementary school students.
- FIRST LEGO League Challenge for older elementary and middle school students.
- FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for middle and high school students.
- FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for high school students.
In 2017, FIRST held its first Olympics-style competition, the FGC (FIRST Global Challenge), in Washington, D.C. Dean Kamen has said that FIRST is the invention he is most proud of. By 2010, one million students had participated in the contests.
Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute
In 2017, Kamen founded the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). He also launched BioFabUSA with a large grant from the Department of Defense. BioFabUSA's goal is to make it possible to create engineered tissues on a large scale. This can help existing industries and create new ones. Kamen also brought together private companies to add more funding to this project.
In 2020, ARMI received another grant. This one was to create the first Foundry for American Biotechnology, called NextFab. Its purpose is to develop new technologies to help the United States prepare for health threats and improve daily medical care.
Awards and Honors
Dean Kamen has received many awards for his work.
- In 1997, he was chosen for the National Academy of Engineering. This was for inventing medical devices and for inspiring young people in engineering.
- In 1999, he received the Heinz Award for his work in technology.
- In 2000, President Clinton gave him the National Medal of Technology. This was for his inventions that have improved medical care around the world.
- In 2002, he won the Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventors. This was for the Segway and his insulin pump.
- In 2003, Time magazine named his "Project Slingshot" (the water purification system) as a runner-up for "coolest invention of 2003."
- In 2005, he was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his AutoSyringe invention.
- In 2006, the United Nations gave him the "Global Humanitarian Action Award."
- In 2007, he received the ASME Medal, the highest award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- In 2011, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering.
- In 2018, he received the Public Service Award from the National Science Board. This honored his great public service and for helping people understand science and engineering.
He has also received many honorary degrees from universities, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Yale University.
Fun Facts
- Dean Kamen lives in a unique, hexagonal house in Bedford, New Hampshire, which he calls Westwind. It has at least four levels and is full of interesting things!
- His house has hallways that look like mine shafts, old-fashioned furniture, a collection of vintage wheelchairs, spiral staircases, and even a secret passage.
- There's also an observation tower and a fully equipped machine shop.
- A huge cast iron steam engine that once belonged to Henry Ford is built into the center of his house. Kamen is working to turn it into a Stirling engine-powered moving sculpture.
- He owns and flies his own jet and three helicopters. He often flies his helicopters to work!
- In 2016, he flew as a passenger in a B-2 Spirit bomber at Whiteman Air Force Base. This was to mark the start of the 2016 FRC World Championship.
- His company, DEKA, creates amazing mechanical gifts for him every year. They've made a robotic chess player and a vintage-looking computer with an old typewriter as a keyboard.
- DEKA has also received funding to work on a brain-controlled prosthetic limb called the Luke Arm.
- Dean Kamen is a member of the Advisory Board for the USA Science and Engineering Festival. He is also on the Board of Trustees for the X Prize Foundation.
- He starred in a TV show called Dean of Invention on Planet Green, which explored new technologies.
See also
- Insulin pump
- North Dumpling Island
- SlingShot
Images for kids
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Kamen Stirling Generator 10 coupled to Water Still 12 (from U.S. Patent 7,340,879)
