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He's a member, too | MARTIN COOPER

A member since 1965, Martin Cooper is an engineer and inventor who developed the first cellular phone 41 years ago this month. Martin lives in Del Mar, Calif., and was interviewed for the Mensa Bulletin in October of 2012.

Hard wired: All my life, I knew I was going to be an engineer…. I have this really early recollection of seeing some boys using a lens and the sun to burn paper. I couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 years old, and I desperately wanted to do what they were doing. I broke a Coke bottle and tried to use the bottom of it as a lens. If I see something interesting, I try to take it apart and figure out how it works.

An idea is born: The thing that really excites me is a new idea. Anytime you can think of something and come to a realization that you didn’t have before, it’s a thrill.

Engineer from A to Z: The most important thing any engineer can do is to really understand the whole process, not just one step in the process…. Once you do that, because of your engineering training, you can do anything.

The coming crisis: We talk a lot about the problems that are coming, but we really don’t act until they become a crisis. The crisis that’s coming has to do with radio spectrum…. People are naturally, inherently mobile. Nobody is ever satisfied with being in one place. So wireless is going to engender all kinds of solutions…. People at Verizon, AT&T, and many others are not using the spectrum very efficiently. They aren’t using the latest technology. So, I now advise the Federal Communications Commission, and I am on an advisory committee for the Department of Commerce. I am working very hard to get them to simulate and adopt techniques for spectral efficiency. I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve ever undertaken.

Heal wirelessly: What if you could measure your body on a continuing basis, all the time, and stop a disease from becoming a disease before that happens? Wireless makes that possible. One example is congestive heart failure. One of the precursors is that fluid builds up in your lungs. Well, we know how to measure that with a little device that can be put into a patch…. If you’re about to have a heart attack, about 24 hours ahead of time, fluid starts building up in your lungs, and this device senses that. It warns you so you avoid going to the hospital or, perhaps, even dying.

Social (media) revolution: Right now, social networking is more of a game than anything else. I’m on Twitter (@martymobile) and all these other things. Some of them are useful. The real value is going to happen when people start using these things as practical tools, when they really become part of their life. When that happens, social networking is going to become a very important part of the enterprise of business.

Invisible hand: Good technology is invisible or intuitive…. The worst kind of technology is the typical cellphone you buy today, where the instruction manual is bigger and heavier than the cell phone. So, what’s the future? It’s devices that become part of you that you don’t have to learn how to use…. The future is customization and simplicity.

Stay sharp: When you get to be my age, keeping both your mind and your body exercised is crucial. I have both observed and read about people who don’t who just fade away. I work very hard in both of those areas.


Each month, American Mensa's membership magazine, the Mensa Bulletin, features interesting and intriguing Mensa members from around the world.
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