WSU Journalism's Jack Lessenberry comments on the life's work of inventor Stanford Ovshinsky...

CBS Detroit, 10/18

Hybrid vehicle battery creator Ovshinsky dies At 89

He was known as the "hero of the electric car movement." Stanford Ovshinsky, a Bloomfield Hills resident, has died at age 89. Ovshinsky, the self-taught inventor who developed the nickel-metal hydride battery used in the hybrid vehicle industry, died at his home after a fight with cancer. Ovshinsky ran Energy Conversion Devices, a car battery development company. He also created a machine that produced 9-mile-long sheets of thin solar energy panels intended to bring cheaper, cleaner power to homes and businesses. Wayne State University Professor Jack Lessenberry said, if you own a laptop, thank Ovshinsky. "He invented the nickel-metal hydride battery that powers that computer. He made modern solar cell technology possible. He foresaw the coming of flat-screen televisions before that ever happened," Lessenberry said.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/18/hybrid-vehicle-battery-creator-ovshinsky-dies-at-89/