A Seattle native before the town became a center for technology, Carlson worked in a patent office.  Because of his need to create copies of each patent, he looked for methods to shorten the copying time.  In 1983 Carlson succeeded in making the first dry copy.  He stood out from his competitors because of his use of electrostatistics instead of chemical or photographic methods.  Later he would go on to create the Xerox company which would become synonymous with photocopying in America.

*posted August 22 - August 26, 2005