Elwood 'Woody' Norris

Known as a prolific inventor and talented technology integrator, Elwood G. Norris founded American Technology Corporation in 1980. After starting his career in the U.S. Air Force as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist, Norris became Director of the Engineering Experiment Station at the University of Washington. Upon conceiving his first commercial invention in 1970, Norris left the University to embark on his entrepreneurial career. Since that time he has developed over 25 diverse product ideas and technology breakthroughs. He holds 47 U.S. patents and has more than 100 patents pending worldwide. In 2005, he was named the Lemelson-MIT Inventor of the Year.