Jun 17 2008
Famed inventor Dean Kamen presented the 35th Annual National Inventor of the Year Award to Dr. Ihor Lys of Color Kinetics (now Philips Solid State Lighting Solutions) at the Old Patent Office building in Washington last week. Kamen said Dr. Lys "stood on the shoulders of giants" such as Thomas Edison and improved on the best known invention of all -- the light bulb -- by developing a breakthrough technology for increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems. Dr. Lys co-founded Color Kinetics in 1997. The company had an initial public offering in June 2004, and was acquired by Philips in 2007 for close to $1 billion.
Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, the sponsor of the National Inventor of the Year Award, issued a release on June 2 describing the Lys invention. Lys received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He was selected as America's most outstanding inventor for 2008 in the competition with other inventors who have patented or developed inventions in the past four years.
Kamen, who presented the award on behalf of the foundation, is a tireless advocate for science and technology. He has developed healthcare and other important inventions including the revolutionary, 2-wheel Segway personal transporter, and holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents. He finds a "world of ideas" more exciting than a "world of stuff."
According to Kamen, intellectual property rights are critical to the creation of technology that can advance our lives. He said Dr. Lys is a great example of a brilliant inventor who took existing light emitting diode technology and other devices and "put it all together" in a new energy-saving invention. He called Dr. Lys a leading "technology hero" who deserves great recognition from society for his contributions.