Jacobson received an
Sc.B. in
physics at
Brown University and a
Ph.D. in physics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral research associate at
Stanford University in experimental and theoretical nonlinear non-local quantum systems. While at Stanford, he set the world record for the shortest pulse ever generated by a laser (in optical cycles). Jacobson first had the idea for the e-book in 1993, while working on his
postdoctoral research in
quantum mechanics. In 1997, Jacobson along with
JD Albert,
Barrett Comiskey, Russ Wilcox and Jerome Rubin founded E Ink Corporation. In 1999, MIT's Technology Review named Jacobson as one of the
TR100, one of the most influential inventors under the age of 35. He invented
nanoparticle–based ink that can print on a flexible computer processor using an inkjet printer. He was awarded the
Gutenberg Prize of the International Gutenberg Society and the City of Mainz in 2000. In 2001, he received a Discovery magazine award for technological innovation. In 2002, he received a
National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Award. In 2013 Jacobson received the
Wilhelm Exner Medal. On 5 May 2016, Jacobson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work in developing E Ink. == References ==