U-M Inventions

Whether discovered by alumni, professors or researchers, Wolverines have made quite an impact on the world. The inventions and discoveries by these people impact your life every day.

We strive for the information in these lists to be as accurate as possible. Current information may not be available for all alumni. Our intent is to list career highlights. If you have comments or suggestions, please email Andrea Otlewski.

Steere, Joseph Beal, 1868, LLB1870, HPHD1875, naturalist, explorer, educator; set off in 1870 on a five-year exploration around the world, particularly on the Amazon River and later in the Philippines, where he discovered many previously unknown species of flora and fauna

Hamilton, Alice, 1893, a specialist in lead poisoning and industrial diseases, was known as the "Mother of Industrial Health." Her work led to a state law requiring medical examinations and various safety procedures in the workplace. In 1919, she became the first woman on the faculty at Harvard and was recently honored with her picture on the 55-cent postage stamp.

Kellogg, John Harvey, 1873-74, developed and advocated the eating of a dry breakfast cereal, from which came the flaked cereal product that led his brother to found the famed Kellogg cereal brand in 1906

Brush, Charles F., MSE1869, earned recognition as the "Father of the Arc Electric Lighting Industry" for his many inventions

Gomberg, Moses, PhD1894, U-M professor of chemistry, discovered organic free radicals in 1900

Sullivan, E.C., 1894, and Hess, H.W., 1898, MS1899, invented in 1915 several new forms of glass, including Pyrex, "Daylight Glass" and chemical-resistant glassware, which helped relieve shortage of German-made glassware during Word War I

Wilson, Frank N., cardiologist on the medical faculty, developed in the 1930s the electrocardiogram, or EKG.

Johnson, Clarence "Kelly," '32, MSE'33, HDENG'64, asked by Lockheed Corp. to review the Electra, one of the world's first four-engine turboprop airplanes. Later, working for Lockheed, he established the legendary Lockheed Skunk Works and created the P-38, the F-104, the U-2 and the SR-71 Blackbird during a remarkable 40-year career.

Benford, Frank, '10, devised in 1937 an instrument for measuring the refraction index of glass.

Dow, William G., MSE'29, during the 1940s led Allied scientists in the design and construction of a 125-ton jamming device used to disable German and Japanese radar systems.

Neel, James V., professor of human genetics, in 1940s discovered that defective genes cause sickle cell anemia

Bartell, Floyd E., MA'08, PhD'10, professor of chemistry, perfected in 1946 the "Aerobond," a lightweight, waterproof, cold-resistant fabric used for military uniforms in wartime and, later, civilian clothing

Spencer, Nelson W., '41, MSE'53, research engineer in the Engineering Research Institute, directed in 1949 the firing of two Aerobee rockets in White Sands, N.M., to measure atmospheric conditions as part of a joint-military research project

Konopinski, Emil J., '33, MA'34, PhD'36, worked in 1950 at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, co-patented the device that triggered the first hydrogen bomb

Glaser, Donald A., professor of physics, developed in 1954 the world's first liquid bubble chamber to study high-energy subatomic particles and won the Nobel Prize in physics for his invention in 1960

Salk, Jonas, HSCD'55, research associate and fellow in the U-M School of Public Health from 1940-44, developed in 1953 the polio vaccine which was field tested at the U-M under Dr. Thomas Francis Jr., and in 1955 was announced as the first successful vaccine against polio.

Sheehan, John C., MS'38, PhD'41, pioneered in 1957 development of synthetic penicillin, the life-saving antibiotic discovered in 1928 and developed ampicillin, a semi-synthetic penicillin taken orally.

Peters, C. Wilbur, professor of physics, and Curtis, Lawrence E., undergraduate student, developed in 1958 a fiberoptic technique leading to medical endoscopy technology.

Kikuchi, Chihiro, professor of nuclear engineering, developed in 1957 the ruby maser, a device for amplifying electrical impulses by stimulated emission of radiation

Horwitz, Jerome, PhD'50, an organic chemist at Michigan Cancer Foundation, synthesized in 1964 the drug AZT, which is used to fight AIDS.

Nirenberg, Marshall W., PhD'57, HSCD'65, shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology for cracking the genetic code

Wagner, John G., professor of pharmacy, in 1968 began to develop pharmacokinetics, a field that uses mathematical models to study the body's metabolism of drugs, and to determine safe dosage levels.

Schneider, Richard C., professor of neurosurgery, co-patented in 1969 a football helmet with an inflatable inner lining that is designed to reduce head injuries

Ting, Samuel C.C., '59, MS'60, PhD'63, HSCD'78, shared the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics for co-discovering a subatomic structure called the J particle.

Klein, Lawrence R., a member of the economics department and the Institute for Social Research, won the 1980 Nobel Prize in economics for his econometric models forecasting short-term economic trends and policies

Donahue, Thomas, professor of planetary science, discovered in 1982 that Venus probably had oceans like Earth and lost them to a greenhouse effect

Cohen, Stanley, PhD'49, co-winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering growth factors (proteins regulating cell growth) in human and animal tissue.

Mourou, Gerard A., A.D. Moore Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and director of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, invented in 1987 high-power, chirped-pulse laser technology

Richstone, Douglas, professor of astronomy, discovered in 1987 evidence for massive black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellite galaxy M32

Rich, Arthur, professor of physics, developed in 1988 with research investigator James C. Van House first positron microscope

Collins, Francis, associate professor of internal medicine and human genetics, headed a 1989 American research team that identified the genes that cause cystic fibrosis and, in 1990, neurofibromatosis. He is on leave from the U-M while serving as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Richard Smalley, '65, along with two other scientists, won 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the 1985 discovery of a form of the carbon element in the faceted shape of a soccer ball called fullerene

Burns, Mark A., associate professor of chemical engineering, headed 1998 multidisciplinary team that created miniature "laboratory on a chip" for the analysis of DNA samples