Ovshinsky, Stanford Robert, 1922–2012, American inventor and scientist, b. Akron, Ohio. Self-taught, he developed a new type of lathe in the 1940s, the first of many innovations and patents. Specializing in basic materials research, he was associated with Energy Conversion Devices from 1960, when he founded it, until 2007. Among the technologies he invented or helped develop were nickel metal hydride batteries, amorphous semiconductors, solar panels, electronic memory, hydrogen fuel cells, and rewritable optical disks. Often compared to Thomas Edison, Ovshinsky was a noted advocate of alternative and renewable energy.
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