- James Fergason
James Fergason (born
Wakenda, Missouri ,January 12 ,1934 ) is an inventor of an improvedLiquid Crystal Display , or LCD.After obtaining a
Bachelor's Degree inphysics from the University of Missouri in 1956, Fergason began his work on the practical uses ofliquid crystal s at theWestinghouse Research Laboratories inPennsylvania , earning his firstpatent (US patent|3114836) in 1963. Fergason was granted a US patent for a liquid crystal display that utilized the twisted nematic field effect (TN effect) that was originally filed in Switzerland by Hoffmann-LaRoche in December 1970. These TN displays were superior to the earlier dynamic scattering displays, and soon became widely spread.Two years later, he left Westinghouse and formed his own company,
ILIXCO , to manufacture these improved liquid crystal displays. His first customer was the Gruen watch company ofSwitzerland , which used the technology to market the first LCD watches using this technology. By the end of the decade, most of the world's digital watches used this kind of LCD display.Today, Fergason holds over 150 patents in the United States and over 500 foreign patents. He also has been recently inducted into the
National Inventors Hall of Fame . In 2001, he foundedFergason Patent Properties , which managed licensing of his patents.Sources
* [http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/57.html James Fergason] (National Inventors Hall of Fame)
* [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllcd.htm Liquid Crystal Display - James Fergason] (About.com Inventors)
* [http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/quartz/inventors/fergason.html James Fergason invented an improved liquid display] (Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution)
* [http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/fergason.html James Fergason: Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)] (Lemelson-MIT Program)
* [http://fergasonpatents.com/company/jlfbio.htm Dr. James Fergason Full Biography] (Fergason Patent Properties LLC.)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
