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Dean Kamen, creator of the Segway scooter and iBOT mobility system, will deliver the commencement address to undergraduate and master's degree candidates at Georgia Tech's spring graduation at 9 a.m. May 3 at the Georgia Dome.
Kamen is the founder and president of the DEKA Research & Development Corp., which focuses on the development of new technologies to enhance quality of life. The company's products include medical devices that allow health care professionals to provide better care to patients and help people care for themselves more easily.
An inventor, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents. His many medical inventions include a portable dialysis machine and intravascular stents. His iBOT, which looks like a wheelchair on steroids, helps the physically challenged climb stairs and maneuver on uneven terrain and even lifts them to meet people at eye level. One of Kamen's most recent projects is a water purification system that would help provide clean drinking water to the estimated 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have access to it.
Kamen also is the founder of For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. With events like FIRST LEGO League and the FIRST Robotics Competition, the nonprofit helps inspire young people to become science and technology leaders.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton presented Kamen with the National Medal of Technology. He received the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.
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