The first full-length biography of a brilliant, self-taught inventor whose innovations in information and energy technology continue to shape our world. The Economist called Stanford R. Ovshinsky (1922-2012) "the Edison of our age," but this apt comparison doesn't capture the full range of his achievements. As an independent, self-educated inventor, Ovshinsky not only created many important devices but also made fundamental discoveries in materials science. This book offers the first full-length biography of a visionary whose energy and information innovations continue to fuel our post-industrial economy.
In
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, Lillian Hoddeson and Peter Garrett tell the story of an unconventional genius with no formal education beyond high school who invented, among other things, the rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries that have powered everything from portable electronics to hybrid cars, a system for mass-producing affordable thin-film solar panels, and rewritable CDs and DVDs. His most important discovery, the Ovshinsky effect, led to a paradigm shift in condensed matter physics and yielded phase-change memory, which is now enabling new advances in microelectronics. A son of the working class who began as a machinist and toolmaker, Ovshinsky focused his work on finding solutions to urgent social problems, and to pursue those goals, he founded Energy Conversion Devices, a unique research and development lab. At the end of his life, battered by personal and professional losses, Ovshinsky nevertheless kept working to combat global warming by making solar energy "cheaper than coal"--another of his many visions of a better tomorrow.
《第一部完整的傳記，講述一位才華橫溢的自學發明家的故事，他在資訊和能源技術上的創新持續塑造著我們的世界。》
《經濟學人》稱斯坦福·R·奧夫辛斯基（Stanford R. Ovshinsky，1922-2012）為「我們這個時代的愛迪生」，但這個恰當的比較並未能涵蓋他成就的全貌。作為一位獨立的自學發明家，奧夫辛斯基不僅創造了許多重要的裝置，還在材料科學上做出了根本性的發現。本書提供了這位先見之明的完整傳記，他在能源和資訊方面的創新持續推動著我們的後工業經濟。
在《看見明天的人》中，莉莉安·霍德森（Lillian Hoddeson）和彼得·加雷特（Peter Garrett）講述了一位非傳統天才的故事，他的正式教育僅止於高中，卻發明了可充電的鎳氫電池，這些電池為從便攜式電子產品到混合動力汽車等各種設備提供了動力，還有一種大規模生產可負擔的薄膜太陽能電池板的系統，以及可重寫的CD和DVD。他最重要的發現——奧夫辛斯基效應，導致了凝聚態物理學的範式轉變，並產生了相變記憶體，這現在正在促進微電子學的新進展。作為一名工人階級的兒子，奧夫辛斯基最初是一名機械師和工具製造者，他將工作重心放在尋找解決緊迫社會問題的方案上，並為了追求這些目標，他創立了能源轉換設備公司（Energy Conversion Devices），這是一個獨特的研究與開發實驗室。在他生命的最後階段，儘管遭受了個人和職業上的損失，奧夫辛斯基仍然不懈努力，致力於通過使太陽能「比煤炭便宜」來對抗全球暖化——這是他眾多美好明天願景中的另一個。
Lillian Hoddeson is Professor of History Emerita and Thomas Siebel Chair in the History of Science Emerita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the coauthor of
True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen and other books.
Peter Garrett is Professor of English Emeritus and former Director of the Unit for Criticism and Theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of
Gothic Reflections and other books.
莉莉安·霍德森（Lillian Hoddeson）是伊利諾伊大學香檳分校歷史學名譽教授及科學史托馬斯·西貝爾名譽講座教授。她是《真正的天才：約翰·巴丁的生活與科學》（True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen）及其他書籍的共同作者。
彼得·加勒特（Peter Garrett）是伊利諾伊大學香檳分校英語名譽教授及前批評與理論單位主任。他是《哥特式反思》（Gothic Reflections）及其他書籍的作者。
