Inventor of the first portable
insulin pump in
1978. In
1993 he developed a portable
dialysis machine which weighs a little over twenty pounds. He's received many awards for his efforts, and is a rather rich man. More recently he's invented a
wheelchair capable of climbing stairs. In fact he possesses over one hundred US
patents. Kamen is also the
mastermind behind a
robotics competition for young people which occurs at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center every year, and is the largest non-Disney sponsored event held on Disney property.
There are rumors that Kamen has devised something which will revolutionize the computing industry as we know it, perhaps even making the Internet itself obsolete. It's little more than hype right now though. Some theorize Kamen will become richer than Bill Gates within the next five years, provided his latest invention actually takes the world by storm. The device is code-named "Ginger" and is very hush-hush. Allegedly it will be unveiled to the public some time in 2002.
Kamen lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. He is President and owner of the DEKA Research & Development Corporation. His focus for the past twenty years has been advancing medical technologies. He is founder of FIRST which is a non-profit organization focused on educating Americans about science and technology.