Great Inventions That Matter

Catalog description

This Introductory Seminar starts by illuminating the general aspects of creativity, invention, and patenting in engineering and medicine, and how Stanford University is one of the world's foremost engines of innovation. We then take a deep dive into some great technological inventions that are still playing an essential role in our everyday lives, such as GPS, Fiber-optical amplifier, Internet, Li-battery, HIV detector, Covid-19 testing/vaccination, personal genome machine, DNA cloning, cancer cell sorting, antibody drugs, brain imaging, and mind reading. The stories and underlying materials and technologies behind each invention, including a few examples by Stanford faculty and student inventors, are highlighted and discussed. A special lecture focuses on the public policy and ethics of intellectual properties (IP) and the resources at Stanford Office of Technology Licensing (OTL). Each student will have an opportunity to write and present a patent disclosure of his/her own ideas.