In recent years, Georgia Tech has become a haven for innovators. But campus has been home to creative minds since the very beginning. Here, we take a look at just a handful of notable inventions to come from Tech minds.
WD-40 • Reginald Fleet, ME 16, was a principle of the group that created the ubiquitous weapon against squeaky doors in the 1950s.
Elmer’s Glue-All • Ashworth Stull, Chem 37, tried 800 variations before finding the right formula in 1942.
Household bleach • Frank Mayo, Cls 25, discovered how to stabilize chlorine while he was a student and went on to create a cleaning sensation.
O’Celo sponge • Gerard E. “Red” Murray, ChE 39, created the O’Celo cellulose sponge (the type you keep under the sink) in 1946.
SIDS monitor • Parker H. “Pete” Petit, ME 62, MS EM 64, engineered the first at-home monitor to watch out for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in the 1970s.
Grasshopper oil pump • Joseph P. Byrd, GE 38, designed the Mark II oilfield pump, known as the grasshopper, still used in oil fields around the world.
PC modem • Dennis C. Hayes, Cls 73, developed the first “intelligent” modem in 1977.
Gang-nail connector plate • J. Calvin Jureit, CE 49, invented the galvanized steel joint, commonly used in roof trusses, in 1955.
Polymerase Chain Reaction • Kary Mullis, Chem 66, developed the technique to generate millions of copies of a DNA sequence in 1983.
Coulter Counter • Wallace H. Coulter, Cls 34, created a method used in medical diagnostic tests for counting and sizing microscopic particles suspended in a fluid in 1948.
Stereophonic recording • Hazard E. Reeves, ME 28, invented a system to synchronize sound recordings directly onto film in 1937.
Lexicon language translator • Michael Levy, EE 69, built the first handheld language-conversion computer in the late 1970s.
Multi-story interior atria • John Portman, Arch 50, designed the Hyatt Regency Atlanta with a multi-story atrium, the first envisioned by an architect.
Thermoplastic carpet tape • Charles Burgess, Cls 33, designed a system to use adhesive tape to join carpet sections in 1968.
Cold permanent waving • Arnold Willat, EE 1907, invented a system for perming hair without using a machine (the precursor to the modern perm) in 1938.
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