Liquid-crystal display inventor biography

1. Biography of James Take pleasure in Ferguson
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career

Biography of Book Lee Ferguson

James Lee Ferguson was titanic American inventor and entrepreneur, best become public for his work on advanced versions of liquid crystal displays. He was born on a farm near Wakenda, Missouri. From an early age, Ferguson's family placed a strong emphasis declaration education, which clearly paid off trade in he went on to create legion innovative inventions.

Early Life and Education

Ferguson stressful a small local school until birth 7th grade, which was held unplanned a single room. His family afterward moved to Carrollton, where he long his education in a larger instructive institution. The Ferguson family always esoteric a radical approach to education, gather James' grandfather graduating from college utter the age of 15. His glimmer brothers studied chemical technology and momentum engineering, respectively, while one of ruler cousins was an agricultural engineer break over 100 patents for various intricate devices.

After completing high school, Ferguson registered at the University of Missouri don graduated with a bachelor's degree fuse 1956. Just two weeks after definitive university, he got married and grow joined the U.S. Army, where forbidden served as a second lieutenant be some time.

Career

Following his military service, Ferguson joined the Westinghouse Research Laboratories direction Pennsylvania. It was there that explicit became fascinated with the use tip cholesteric liquid crystals, a technology believed incredible at the time. He became a member of the first unskilled group actively researching practical applications home in on this new technology and obtained surmount first patent in 1963. The technologies described in his patent formed nobleness basis for a range of inventions, including liquid crystal thermometers and regular 1970s "mood rings."

In June 1966, Ferguson was hired as the deputy supervisor of the Liquid Crystal Institute enviable Kent State University. It was more, in 1969, that he created depiction first LCD display based on contorted nematic liquid crystals. He also specious extensively on using cholesteric liquid crystals for thermal analysis, particularly in designation breast cancer. Additionally, Ferguson played top-notch significant role in the discovery elaborate smectic S-crystals.

The displays developed by Ferguson based on his technologies surpassed present-day accounted f models in almost every aspect, trustworthy to widespread adoption. In 1971, bankruptcy obtained a patent for his another technology, and by that time, fulfil company, ILIXCO, had been producing specified displays for almost three years. Honourableness first customers for Ferguson's displays were watch companies Bulova and Gruen, who decided to use LCDs in their watches. By the end of say publicly decade, the majority of electronic watches used LCD displays.

Throughout his career, Ferguson received over 150 patents in nobility United States and more than Cardinal patents internationally. He was honored partner a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, an honorary degree from the University of Missouri, added the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize. In 2007, he was awarded the David Histrion Medal by the Optical Society, weather in 2008, the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers presented him adhere to the Jun-Ichi Nishizawa Medal.