Mark I. Gardner (born September 21, 1955, in Boston, Massachusetts) is one of the most prolific patent holders in the world. Forbes magazine and

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have cited Gardner's achievements. His past and current inventions are focused upon

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

, computers,

semiconductors A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

integrated circuits An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and educational devices.

Education

From 1973 to 1977, Gardner attended the University of Lowell, Lowell, MA (now the University of Massachusetts, Lowell campus), and graduated Cum-Laude with a BS in Physics. Gardner obtained his master's degree in Physics from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, Maryland in 1980.

Career

Gardner has held positions at Advanced Micro Devices,

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...

and

Micron The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

in the fields of microelectronics, semiconductors, transistors, High-K Gate Dielectrics High-k dielectric, memory cells, integrated circuits, device fabrication, process development, and device engineering.

Inventions

During his career as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, inventor,

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, Gardner created the 515 issued United States

Patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

. In the year 2000, Gardner was awarded over 160 issued patents in one year, which is a record for the most inventions for a United States citizen for a one-year period. He is a part-time professor of physics at Austin Community College. A partial list of his inventions can be found at the United States Patent and Trademark office. Gardner has most recently patented an idea focusing on technology currently being utilized by several mobile conglomerates that many think may be infringing. The patent includes claims relating to a mobile device communicating with a secondary device to access credit card information, purchased tickets, financial institutions, driver licenses, and passports (to name a few).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Mark 21st-century American inventors Living people University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni 1955 births