Inventor of DVDs, LCDs, and mobile batteries Stan Ovshinsky dies, 89

Without him, CDR-King would be just an office furniture shop. The world of science —to say nothing of consumer electronics— suffered a big loss this week after scientist-inventor Stanford Ovshinsky succumbed to prostate cancer at age 89.

 

^{(Photo credit: Ovshinsky family, via Michiganradio.com)}

 

Ovshinsky died peacefully at his home 39 days before his 90th birthday, according to an obituary from the Ovshinsky family posted on the Michigan Radio website.

 

"Akron born Ovshinsky is credited with the development of the field of amorphous and disordered semiconductors," read the obituary.

 

The obituary credited him for contributing to sustainable energy and innovative information technology with inventions like:

 

It added Ovshinsky was among 35 American inventors over the past century “who helped to shape the modern world” and was profiled in the book, Inventing Modern America.

 

Ovshinsky is survived by his wife Rosa, children Ben, Harvey, Dale, Robin, Steven. Angela, Vicki, grandchildren Natasha, Noah, Sylvie, Pablo, Olivia, and Norah, and brother Herb.

Memorial  

A private burial will be held at the Workman’s Circle Cemetery in Akron, Ohio.

 

However, the public may visit his virtual memorial at www.forevermissed.com/stanford-r-ovshinsky/

 

Also, donations in his honor can be made to the ACLU of Michigan, 2966 Woodward Avenue, Detroit MI 48201 and to The Ovshinsky Student Fund c/o Darlene Logan, Director of Development, The American Physical Society, 1 Physics Ellipse College Park, MD 20740.

 

Last of his kind

 

Dr. Harley Shaiken, Professor of Education and Geography at the University of California at Berkeley and Chair of the University’s Center for Latin American Studies, said Ovshinsky was the "last of his kind."

 

He compared Ovshinsky to Henry Ford, who made the motor car accessible to the masses by inventing the moving assembly line and a car suited to mass production.

 

"Stan Ovshinsky did what Ford did but he really went beyond him in that he also developed the science that allowed new materials and new approaches that laid the basis for a global transformation in energy and information,” he said.

 

The obituary also quoted the British publication The Economist as saying Ovshinsky was “the (Thomas) Edison of our age.”

 

It said Ovshinsky was a brilliant, self-educated physicist and inventor who "lived his beliefs daily by using science and technology to create a better world."

 

He was featured in the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” due to his nickel-metal hydride batteries that enabled the creation of electric and hybrid cars.

 

Information and energy

 

Ovshinsky was a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  His awards include:

 

 

He is also a member of the College of Fellows of the Engineering Society of Detroit and received the 2008 Engineering Society of Detroit Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

His most recent honorary degree was Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Michigan (2010) - sharing the stage with President Barack Obama, who was given an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

 

Earlier this year, he was nominated as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2012 by the European Patent Office for his development of nickel-metal hydride batteries.

 

Humanitarian

 

Ovshinsky was also a humanitarian, showing leadership in the labor, civil rights and peace movements, as part of his "lifelong dedication to a just society for all."

 

'Edison of our age'

 

A separate article on tech site CNET said Ovshinsky was hailed by Economist magazine as "the Edison of our age," and had more than 200 patents on pioneering products.

 

"Born in Akron, Ohio, in 1922, Ovshinsky never attended college, but studies at a one-room library provided the basis for his scientific literacy, leading him to become director of research at automotive and defense supplier Hupp Corp. at age 30," it said. — TJD, GMA News