Anodized aluminum medical laser instrument design

Used to illustrate the engineer's mode of recombining existing materials for new applications. Tom and J&J obtained a patent; Tom received his hourly consulting rate (about four hours' worth).

I mentioned the academics in the arts and sciences often look down on engineering. I gave you the quote from Francis Amasa Walker, the president of MIT in 1911, where he says engineers have too long been thought of by other academics in the arts and sciences as having attained their accomplishments by some lower intellectual merit. I gave you the von Kármán quote: a scientist explains that which exists, and an engineer creates that which never was. There was also a quote that scientists like to create new knowledge, things we didn't understand before. An engineer actually likes to put things together from existing pieces. They don't have to invent new things. Like the guy with the medical instrument where we ended up using anodized aluminum — anodized aluminum wasn't new. It's just a new application for it, in the medical application where they were using lasers. And we got a patent on it. I never got anything for it actually. I got my hourly consulting rate, which was about four hours. Doesn't take long to come up with an idea that's patentable. The Johnson & Johnson people spent a lot more time on it.

The patentable result of the J&J consulting case. Two patents issued with Tom's name on them; the patents form the subject of the indemnification lesson in §7.