Dean Kamen
Inventor of It
Dean Kamen, 55, could have practically trademarked the word “It” when that was the media’s code word for his revolutionary balancing scooter, the Segway, which was still under wraps and the subject of intense speculation.
But by that time, his mind was already off to other inventions to benefit the world, like a machine that could bring clean water and electric power to benighted regions of the Third World. This new device, The Slingshot, is a magic box the size of an office copier that serves as a purifier or a generator fueled by burning scrap wood or cow dung. He was just named Humanitarian of the Year by the U.N. and picked as Innovator of the Year by R&D magazine, but the closest thing to fame for him is probably his appearance in a vintage roadster, sitting next to Isabella Rossellini, in magazine ads for the Sundance Channel’s new show “Iconoclasts.”
“I’m always shocked at how pop culture works,” says Kamen.
New Hampshire Magazine knows where “It” is at. Each November, we identify the state’s most happening people and publish their names and profiles in our annual “It List.”
So what defines an “It” Person?
How about buzz, panache, je ne sais quoi, currency, a person whose time has come, a person of tomorrow, a timeless person, noteworthy, below the radar, in the news, in the know, hot, cool, high impact, slippery, a mover and shaker, a humble saint, a behind-the-scenes operator, a scenery chewer, an unsung hero, a hero who knows how to sing.
It’s a quality that’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
Above is one member of the 2006 It List.
