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Every week the U. Patent Office issues 1, magnificently engraved certificates attesting to it. Some of them make money. A few hit the jackpot. George Nelson, for example. In he was a mechanic bolting down deck plates in a San Francisco shipyard. Too slow for wartime.
Together they eliminated a finicky drilling and tapping operation. The next year Nelson got three patents. By he was the Nelson Stud-Welding Corp. And the Nelson Stud-Welding Corp almost went broke. One year later, however, the gross exceeded a million. So it does happen. Independent inventors-bucking the degree-loaded research teams in laboratory palaces — get two out of every five patents. Sixty percent of the important inventions come from the loners working at home or in small companies.
Two young musicians started working on what became Kodachrome color film in the bathroom of a New York apartment; one employee of a two-bit St. Paul company invented Scotch tape; an obscure RAF officer created the jet engine; a couple of lab men at a small fabric-printing outfit in England discovered Dacron.
So many new ideas are born, and the struggle for acceptance is so fierce, that all but a very few languish and die without earning a nickel. On the average, he completes a sale for three of those hopeful 1, You have to start with a good invention. Naturally, yours is. Commercializing it requires more ingenuity and hard work than the original idea did.
Today public and private agencies are anxious to help you. New products and processes are in greater demand than ever before. At least three Federal agencies make an effort to help independent inventors: The patent Office, besides offering advice on patent procedure and a roster of patent attorneys, make a stab at publicizing inventions. When your patent is issued, it is described in the widely read Official Gazette. The Small Business Administration local offices in several cities gives advice and also publishes a listing of inventions for sale.
Anyone who counts on Government listings to fix him for life with royalty checks is more likely to end up broke. Some environments offer a more productive climate for women than others.
But I've noticed a significant improvement since I was a student 20—25 years ago. I've noticed a shift in the demographics of the PhD students. It's almost , and that's starting to percolate into the postdoctoral workforce. And, at Berkeley, we've definitely seen a shift in the demographics of the faculty with the most recent generation of hires.
So do you think the balance of representation will just naturally shift to ? It's hard to say what the endpoint number will be. The profession has become more attractive to women than it used to be. They feel like they can do the science they want to do, get funded to do it and get promoted and have some influence.
They feel more entitled to these positions than a young student of my generation. We just kind of kept our heads down and really hoped for a couple of lucky breaks.
The problem we still have is representation in the faculty ranks. If you look at the numbers—especially in the physical sciences—it's pretty bad. That problem is totally solvable. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Reprints and Permissions. Palmer, R. Straight talk with Carolyn Bertozzi. Nat Med 16, Download citation. Issue Date : July Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:.
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