E-ink

Joseph Jacobson PhD ’93, faculty

Inspired by a trip to Peru during which a rural resident asked him for books, Jacobson developed e-ink, the basis for electronic readers. His innovative technology uses less power than liquid crystal displays and—as anyone with a Kindle knows—looks remarkably like printed paper. Jacobson’s invention sparked the mass market for eReaders, granting access to thousands of books through a single hand-held device.