Stanford R. Ovshinsky

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Stanford Robert Ovshinsky
Inventor
Known forNickel–metal hydride battery Phase-change memory
Spouses
  • Norma Rifkin
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1943; div. 1959)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1960; died 2006)​
  • Rosa Young
    ​
    (m. 2007)​

Stanford Robert Ovshinsky (November 24, 1922 – October 17, 2012) was an American

hydrogen fuel cells; and nonvolatile phase-change memory.[2][3]

Ovshinsky opened the scientific field of

self-taught, without formal college or graduate training.[5] Throughout his life, his love for science and his social convictions were the primary engines for his inventive work.[5]

In 1960, Ovshinsky and his soon-to-be second wife,

battery production firm.[6]

Roughly a year after Iris Ovshinsky's death in August 2006, Ovshinsky left ECD and established a new company, Ovshinsky Innovation LLC, devoted to developing the scientific basis for new energy and information technologies. In October 2007 he married Rosa Young, a physicist who had worked at ECD on numerous energy technologies including a hydrogen-powered hybrid car and on Ovshinsky's vision of a hydrogen-based economy.

Early life

Ovshinsky was born and grew up in the industrial town of

civil rights, and civil liberties.[8]

Work through the 1950s

Work as a machinist and the Benjamin Center Drive

Before graduating from high school in June 1941, Ovshinsky worked as a teacher,

artillery shells in large enough volume for wartime needs during the Korean War. Meanwhile, Ovshinsky continued to develop his growing interest in human and machine intelligence, avidly studying the research literature on neurophysiology, neurological disease, and cybernetics, corresponding briefly with Norbert Wiener.[12]

Intelligent machines

In 1951, Ovshinsky accepted an offer to move to

Wayne Medical School in June 1955 to participate in pioneering experimental research on the mammalian cerebellum
.

The Ovitron

By the late 1950s, working at General Automation, Ovshinsky brought together these disparate studies in an

sulphur, selenium, and tellurium. He would continue to work with chalcogenides in his inventions for decades to come.[12]

Work from 1960

Energy Conversion Laboratory

On January 1, 1960, Ovshinsky and Iris Miroy Dibner, whom he married soon after his divorce from Norma Rifkin, founded Energy Conversion Laboratory to develop his inventions in the interest of solving societal problems, especially those they identified in the areas of information and energy (e.g. pollution and wars over oil).

thin films and nanostructures.[4]
Recognizing the significance of his results, Ovshinsky applied for a patent on June 21, 1961 and, in 1962, made his first licensing pact on phase-change memory.

Energy Conversion Devices

By the spring of 1963, the Ovshinskys had exhausted the savings with which they had initially funded ECL. Before seeking public funding, Stan wanted validation of the importance of his work from a well-recognized scientist. He telephoned

Isadore I. Rabi, Edward Teller, David Turnbull, Victor Weisskopf, and Robert R. Wilson.[4][5][17][18] Some joined as consultants or as members of the Board of Directors. Meanwhile, the ECL community developed a uniquely productive, non-hierarchical, multicultural, international environment, reflecting Stan and Iris' social values. In 1964, Stan and Iris changed the laboratory's name to Energy Conversion Devices and moved the company to larger quarters in Troy, Michigan
.

The company continued to develop electronic memory, batteries, and solar cells, reinvesting almost every penny of profit into the scientific study of a wide variety of problems, much of which later became the basis of lucrative industries, e.g., flat screen

liquid crystal displays. In time, license fees to ECD began to grow, especially when amorphous silicon was used to make solar cells "by the mile," with an approach that originated from Ovshinsky's non-silver photographic film work.[2] It led to the bold approach of using the first continuous web photovoltaic machine, designed and built under Stan's direction by Herb Ovshinsky and a small group in the machine division. Generations of machines later resulted in sufficient money to reach Ovshinsky's objective of building a 30 megawatt machine, rather than a 5 megawatt machine. Despite considerable skepticism toward the machine, it is now being cloned very successfully by ECD in new plants.[13] ECD also saw profits from the nickel metal hydride batteries, which were important for a time in laptop computers and continue to be important in hybrid gas-electric automobiles.[4][13]

Ovshinsky Innovation LLC

On August 16, 2006, Iris Ovshinsky, Stan's wife and partner of almost fifty years, died suddenly while swimming.[19] A year later, Ovshinsky retired from ECD and launched a new company with Rosa Young, whom he later married. At Ovshinsky Innovation LLC, he continued his work on information and energy science, in strong relationships with colleagues and with industrial partners (for example, Ovonyx, which is developing phase-change semiconductor memory). Ovshinsky Innovation is currently focusing on a new kind of photovoltaic plant based on a new concept promising to lower the cost of photovoltaic energy sources below that of coal.[12] This latter innovation would help realize his long-term goal over the last half-century to make fossil fuels obsolete while, at the same time, providing countless jobs in new industries.

ECD has been recognized as the company that "developed solar roofing shingles in the 1990s," and making "the best available flexible thin film in the world," in addition to being one of the first companies to work on

digital memory, solar energy, battery technology, optical media, and solid hydrogen storage, and his hundreds of basic scientific patents, he has often been compared with Thomas Edison.[3][4][13] In the area of alternatives to fossil fuel, his pioneering work has caused many writers to refer to him as "the modern world's most important energy visionary."[22]

General Motors and the US Auto Battery Consortium

The Ovonics technology was acquired by General Motors for use in its EV1 electric car, but production was ended shortly after the NiMH batteries began to replace the lead-acid batteries of earlier models

In an interview in the 2006 documentary

auto industry created the US Auto Battery Consortium (USABC) to stifle the development of electric vehicle technology by preventing the dissemination of knowledge about Ovshinsky's battery-related patents to the public through the California Air Resources Board (CARB).[23]

According to Ovshinsky, the auto industry falsely suggested that NiMH technology was not yet ready for widespread use in road cars.[24] Members of the USABC, including General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, threatened to take legal action against Ovshinsky if he continued to promote NiMH's potential for use in BEVs, and if he continued to lend test batteries to Solectria, a start-up electric vehicle maker that was not part of the USABC. Critics argue that the Big Three were more interested in convincing CARB members that electric vehicles were not technologically and commercially viable.[23]

In 1994,

EV1 BEV. Sales of GM-Ovonics batteries were later taken over by GM manager and critic of CARB John Williams, leading Ovshinsky to wonder whether his decision to sell to GM had been naive.[23] The EV1 program was shut down by GM before the new NiMH battery could be commercialized, despite field tests that indicated the Ovonics battery extended the EV1's range to over 150 miles.[23]

Death

His last public appearance was at Louis Riel School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ovshinsky died of prostate cancer on October 17, 2012, aged 89 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[25][26]

Honors and awards

With more than 300 publications on his curriculum vitae, Ovshinsky has won many prizes for his contributions to science and innovation.[1]

Memberships and fellowships

Awards

In popular culture

Ovshinsky appeared in the documentary

NOVA
(October 1987).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Avery Cohn, "A Revolution Fueled by the Sun," Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Spring 2008): p. 22.
  2. ^ a b c "The Edison of our Age?" The Economist, December 2, 2006, pp. 33–34.
  3. ^ a b Hellmut Fritzsche and Brian Schwartz, Stanford R. Ovshinsky: The Science and Technology of an American Genius (Singapore: World Scientific, 2008), p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "The Edison of our Age?" The Economist, December 2, 2006
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hellmut Fritzsche and Brian Schwartz, Stanford R. Ovshinsky: The Science and Technology of an American Genius (Singapore: World Scientific, 2008), pp. 3, 5, 51.
  6. ^ John Fialka, "Power Surge: After Decades, A Solar Pioneer Sees Spark in Sales" Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2006; >"The Edison of our Age?"
  7. ^ George S. Howard, Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World (Notre Dame: Academic Publications, 2006), pp. 13, 15.
  8. ^ George S. Howard, Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World (Notre Dame: Academic Publications, 2006), p. 14.
  9. ^ George S. Howard, Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World (Notre Dame: AcademicPublications, 2006), p. 23.
  10. ^ Margot Hornblower, "Listen, Detroit: You'll Get a Charge Out of This," Time, Heroes for the Planet, February 22, 1999, p. 80.
  11. ^ George S. Howard, Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World (Notre Dame: Academic Publications, 2006), p. 50.
  12. ^ a b c d Interview with Stanford and Iris Ovshinsky by Lillian Hoddeson, January 4–5, 2006, July 19–20, 2006, and August 16, 2006, available in Hoddeson's private collection, Urbana, IL.
  13. ^ a b c d Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, "Invent," The New York Times Magazine, April 20, 2008, The green issue.
  14. ^ Hellmut Fritzsche and Brian Schwartz, Stanford R. Ovshinsky: The Science and Technology of an American Genius (Singapore: World Scientific, 2008), p. 17.
  15. ^ v 1.1 of the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006.
  16. ^ Allyn Malventano (2 June 2017). "How 3D XPoint Phase-Change Memory Works | Selectors, Scaleability, and Conclusion". www.pcper.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  17. ^ George S. Howard, Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World (Notre Dame: Academic Publications, 2006), pp. 68–69.
  18. ^ Harley Shaiken, "The Einstein of alternative energy?" Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Spring 2008): pp. 28–29.
  19. ^ Jeremy W. Peters, "Iris M. Ovshinsky, 79, Partner in Cleaner Auto Technology, is Dead," New York Times, September 5, 2006.
  20. ^ Jennifer Kho, "Energy Conversion Devices' turnaround: Is BIPV finally ready to take off?" Renewable Energy World, January 16, 2009 and Dominique Browning, "Extreme Makeover: White House Edition," The Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2009, W1.
  21. ^ Harley Shaiken, "The Einstein of alternative energy?" and Harley Shaiken, "Jumpstarting the Americas," Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Fall 2008): pp. 2-7.
  22. ^ Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future (Hachette, NY: Twelve, 2007), p. 5.
  23. ^
    ISBN 978-0679421054
    .
  24. ^ Coker, M. (2003-05-15). "Dude, Wheres My Electric Car!?!". Orange County Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  25. ^ "Welcome to nginx eaa1a9e1db47ffcca16305566a6efba4!185.15.56.1". Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  26. New York Times
    . Retrieved 2012-10-19. ... died on Wednesday at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He was 89. The cause was prostate cancer, his son Harvey said. ...
  27. ^ Beata Mostafavi (9 December 2010). "Kettering University and University of Michigan-Flint to hold commencement ceremonies; Energy icon Stanford Ovshinsky to be honored". The Flint Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  28. ^ "NYIT Announces 2008 Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients". May 2008.
  29. ^ "Stanford R. Ovshinsky, on season 15 , episode 6". Scientific American Frontiers. Chedd-Angier Production Company. 2005. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006-01-01.

Bibliography

  • Hoddeson, Lillian, and Peter Garrett. The Man Who Saw Tomorrow: The Life and Inventions of Stanford R. Ovshinsky. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2018.
  • Henderson, Tom. Crain's Detroit Business, "Quest for 'holy grail' of solar drives Ovshinsky" January 2–8, 2012, vol. 28, no. 1.
  • Sigma Xi 125th Anniversary Interview. "Stanford R. Ovshinsky (1990)," interviewed by Greg P. Smestad. [1]
  • Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "Stanford Ovshinsky: Pursuing solar electricity at a cost equal to or lower than that of coal electricity", May 2011 vol. 67 no. 3 1-7 [2]
  • Fisher, Lawrence M. "Stan Ovshinsky's Solar Revolution" strategy+business, Spring 2011: 62–71. [3]
  • Herbert, Bob. "Signs of Hope" The New York Times Magazine, November 24, 2009. [4]
  • Carson, Iain and Vijay Vaitheeswaran. Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future. Hachette, New York: Twelve, 2007.
  • Cohn, Avery. "A Revolution Fueled by the Sun" Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Spring 2008): 22–24.
  • "The Edison of our Age?" The Economist, December 2, 2006.[5]
  • Fialka, John. "Power Surge: After Decades, A Solar Pioneer Sees Spark in Sales." Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2006.
  • Fritzsche, Hellmut, and Brian Schwartz. Stanford R. Ovshinsky: The Science and Technology of an American Genius. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 2008.
  • Hornblower, Margot. "Listen, Detroit: You'll Get a Charge Out of This." TIME, February 22, 1999, Heroes for the Planet.[6]
  • Howard, George S. Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy:…Creating a Better World. Notre Dame: Academic Publications, 2006.
  • Kridel, Tim. "Meet Stan Ovshinsky, the Energy Genius." Mother Earth News (October/ November 2006), Issue 218.[7]
  • Kho, Jennifer. "Energy Conversion Devices' Turnaround: Is BIPV Finally Ready to Take Off?" Renewable Energy World, January 16, 2009.[8]
  • Shaiken, Harley. "The Einstein of Alternative Energy?" Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Spring 2008): 28–31.
  • Shaiken, Harley. "Jumpstarting the Americas." Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies (Fall 2008): 2–7.
  • Vaitheeswaran, Vijay V. "Invent." The New York Times Magazine, April 20, 2008, The Green Issue.[9]
  • Carlisle, Norman. "The Ovshinsky Invention" Science & Mechanics, (February 1970): 38–40.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stanford Ovshinsky.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stanford_R._Ovshinsky&oldid=1214115825"