Creativity and Cool Gizmos: Dean Kamen at Michigan Tech Thursday

Holder of 440 patents and inventor of the Segway and the first-ever wearable drug infusion pump will deliver this year’s first-year engineering lecture.

Dean Kamen, president of DEKA Research and Development Corp. and founder of FIRST Robotics, will visit Michigan Tech Thursday, Sept. 12 to meet with students and faculty, interact with area middle and high school students who participate in robotics programs, and deliver the First-Year Engineering Lecture to Michigan Tech’s incoming engineering and computing majors.

Kamen holds 440 U.S. and foreign patents, including the Segway — the self-balancing personal transporter — and the first-ever wearable drug infusion pump. At the age of 30, Kamen sold his first company, AutoSyringe. He then founded DEKA to focus on innovations aimed to improve lives around the world. It started small and has now grown to a group of more than 600. Celebrating over 30 years in business, DEKA is a leading research and development company that prides itself on creativity.

While at Michigan Tech, Kamen will also meet with the deans of the colleges of engineering and computing, Pavlis Honors College, and the chairs of related departments.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.