For all of the devices and innovations Dean Kamen has created - the first wearable insulin pump, water purifiers for developing nations, a portable dialysis machine - he can't shake the moniker associated with his highest-profile creation.
"I'm forever known as the Segway guy," he said.
And Kamen, a renowned inventor and one of the keynote speakers at the Milestones and Horizons Conference on Monday in Fargo, can spin Segway stories aplenty. He has footage of Stephen Colbert zooming around fervently in a stair-climbing wheelchair, the precursor to the rolling mobile platform. He has a photo of George W. Bush falling headfirst off the gadget in a failed attempt to fake a ride.
But Kamen has bigger things on his mind.
He's trying to solve the world's water and energy problems at the same time. His company, DEKA Research & Development Corp., developed purifiers that can clean the filthiest of rivers, powered by generators that run on livestock waste. And he's trying to inspire the young people of America - a nation he describes as obsessed with sports and entertainment - "to do something other than bounce a ball."
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For the past two decades, Kamen's pet project has been the FIRST program - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It's a series of regional competitions designed to encourage students to get involved in science and engineering by tackling technical problems. Those primarily involve building robots to compete in challenges.
Founded in 1989, those programs now have more than 250,000 participants around the world at tens of thousands of schools worldwide. They operate in 32 schools in North Dakota.
Kamen's goal is to foster the same level of enthusiasm for technical achievements that young people have for sports stars and celebrities. He says it's the only way to keep the nation competitive in math and science.
"You want to compete globally? You'd better have everybody try out for the team," he said.
Edward Jung, the founder of tech venture firm Intellectual Ventures and another speaker at the conference, said it's critical that the U.S. work to maintain its innovative edge.
"It is our lead to lose. It is extremely important that we don't lose it," he said.
The conference at Fargo's Holiday Inn was the Red River Valley Research Corridor's annual state-of-affairs gathering. Other events of the day included "show-and-tell" sessions on research projects ranging from biotech work to unmanned aircraft technology.
U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., a major proponent of the corridor's initiatives, said the corridor has been responsible for 10,000 jobs and $1 billion in economic activity since 2002.
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"We have the foundation to attract a lot of good things to this region," Dorgan said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Marino Eccher at (701) 241-5502
