Local inventor talks to entrepreneurial physics class
(Sept. 28, 2001)--When physics professor Jim Gallas outlined his new entrepreneurial physics class, he wanted to be sure to include bringing in local inventors to talk about the trials and tribulations of the invention process.The first guest speaker this fall was Michael Kluger, assistant director of vehicle systems research at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Kluger spoke to the class about his work and the process of inventing.
Kluger, an engineer, has received numerous patents for his work and is internationally known as an expert in braking and transmission systems. He provided a roadmap for future inventors to follow from the first fledgling idea through production and marketing.
"What makes an inventor?" Kluger asked the class. "The inventor is someone who is able to see something that no one else is able to see." He says the key is an ability to put together familiar concepts or things in unique ways.
Kluger says his best ideas have come to him when he was jogging or, in some cases, sleeping. "We've all been taught not to come up with 'crazy' ideas," Kluger noted. "[But] that's the definition of inventing."
The class, offered at UTSA for the first time this fall, guides students through the process of creating innovative ideas, applying for a patent, producing the invention and then marketing it to the consumer. The novel aspect of Gallas' course is teaching the techniques and craft of inventing, based on simple physics principles.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Memorial
service sponsored by international students set for Oct. 1
King
William Winds will play a concert of favorites Monday night
Local inventor talks to entrepreneurial physics class
VIA,
UTSA extend express bus service transit pact
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