Frontiers - Space-Library

fabrication, an important method for making airplane parts.
A shipyard welder straight out of high school, Matsen
brought a lot of real-world experience and practical metals
knowledge when he joined Boeing in 1983.
He also brought a respect for protecting intellectual
property and patenting his ideas. As a Technical Fellow,
Matsen teaches and encourages younger employees to
transform their ideas into intellectual property value.
“It’s not like in school, where they give you a problem
and the professor already knows the answer,” said Matsen,
who, like Georgeson, is with Boeing Research & Technology.
“At Boeing, they give you a problem because they don’t
know the answer. And so, when you come up with a
solution, it’s probably something new.”
Matsen relentlessly submits inventions, knowing some
will hit while others will miss. As a hitting average, though,
Matsen’s record rivals even those of the best baseball
players, having disclosed 174 inventions, with 58 issued
as U.S. patents.
“Marc was inspiring to me because he wasn’t afraid to
make disclosures and be turned down,” Georgeson said.
“I remember asking him at one time, ‘So, how many
patents do you have?’ And I was, like, ‘What!’ He had
something like 30 patents!”
These days, Georgeson files about 15 to 20 invention
disclosures a year. Being part of a team helped him get
back in the game emotionally.
“I have only been successful in this arena because I
have been fortunate to work with many inventive people
and on some high-quality technology teams,” Georgeson
said. “I have found that collaboration and cross-pollination
produce the best innovation. And you definitely have more
courage to put forth your ideas when you’re standing
with a team.” •
candace.k.heckman@boeing.com
BOEING FRONTIERS / SEPTEMBER 2012
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