Renowned Inventor Visits Summer Camp in Cortlandt

CORTLANDT, NY — James J. Wynne, co-inventor of the technology behind LASIK eye surgery and a National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee, attended the Camp Invention at Blue Mountain Middle School Aug. 24 to interact with and mentor young, aspiring inventors.

As a child, Wynne grew up in Great Neck, New York, and enjoyed putting together jigsaw puzzles and building model boats, planes and cars. In high school, he developed a passion for physics. That early passion for innovation and problem-solving grew throughout the years and ultimately became a driving force behind the invention of Excimer Laser Surgery, the technology behind LASIK.

Camp Invention’s mission to instill creative problem solving and a love for STEM early on in life.

At Camp Invention, a national summer enrichment day camp program for grades one through six, kids are encouraged to explore creative problem solving by incorporating avant-garde skill building and educational tactics, such as webbing out, the “maker” approach, upcycling, coding and the importance of divergent and convergent thinking. The Camp Invention curriculum utilizes the great minds of National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees, USPTO executives, Collegiate Inventors Competition finalists and education leaders.

On average, 1,500 Camp Invention programs take place over the course of a summer. They are located all across the United States.