ARLINGTON, Va. — If great minds think alike, it's befitting that a handful of the nation's premiere inventors agreed that it's curiosity, mostly, that leads to human, social and economic progress.
"You don't have to have spectacular ideas, you just have to be curious," said Rangaswamy Srinivasan, co-inventor of Excimer laser surgery, used for eye operations.
Rangaswamy joined 37 other inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame last week for the opening of an exhibit commemorating the bicentennial of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Held at the USPTO Museum in Arlington, Va., "200 Years of Fostering American Innovation" reviews the history of the office and highlights its commitment to innovation. Among the models and inventions on display were an Underwood typewriter, American Bell microphone, rotary steam engine, Tiffany & Co. Blue Box and Western Electric Princess telephone.
Among those inventors celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit was Don Keck, co-inventor of modern fiber optics used in telecommunications, making optical fiber capable of carrying 65,000 times more information than conventional copper wire.
"Inventors are highly trained and dedicated to solving a problem that's important for humankind," said Keck. The new group of inductees, he added, "was just dedicated and picked out a problem to solve."
The total number of U.S. patents issued to U.S. residents in 2001 was 101,619, according to the patent office. U.S. patents issued to residents of foreign countries in the same year was 86,203. Roughly 80 percent of patent applications are rejected the first time around.
Inventors of the electron microscope, diagnostic X-ray scanner, Hepatitis B vaccination and the artificial heart were among those meeting in Washington for a weeklong celebration.
One of those who took a kernel of an idea and developed it into something beneficial was Helen Free. Along with her late husband, Alfred Free, she found a way to enable diabetics to easily and accurately monitor their blood glucose levels on their own with dry reagents that have become the standard in laboratory urinalysis and the consumer-oriented "dip-and-read" tests.
While she chalked up her contribution to "just doing my job," Free pointed to the significance innovation plays in the world.
"The whole idea of being able to affect strangers, some thousands of miles away, to make things easier, better, less expensive, is incredible," she said.
Sam Smith, co-inventor of Scotchgard — which repels stains and removes oily soils from synthetic fabrics — lauded the patent office for playing a critical role in innovations and inspiring would-be inventors.
"It has to meet two criteria. It has to be needed and profitable," he said.