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'''Patricia Billings''' (born 1926) is a sculptor, inventor and businesswoman. She invented the building material Geobond.<ref name="WSJ" /> The book on women inventors, ''Patently Female'' (2002), calls Geobond, the "worlds first safe alternative to [[asbestos]]."<ref name=":2" /> Lemmelson-MIT notes its fireproof and resilient properties, calling it "the world's first workable replacement for asbestos."<ref name=":1" /> A 2017 book on women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers states that the Geobond architectural material is an "indestructible, fire-proof and non-toxic building material.” However, in 2001, [[Forbes]] described the product claims as hype, with no advantages over existing materials, pointed out that the company was moribund, with a skeleton staff, and probably unable to fill orders “if any”, but pointing out that it might have minor uses like "telephone poles in wildfire districts."<ref name="Smoked Out">{{cite news |last1=Fitch |first1=Stephane |title=Smoked Out |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0205/068s01.html?sh=474b078e4f0a |accessdate=7 November 2020 |publisher=Forbes |date=5 February 2001}}</ref> |
'''Patricia Billings''' (born 1926) is a sculptor, inventor and businesswoman. She invented the building material Geobond.<ref name="WSJ" /> The book on women inventors, ''Patently Female'' (2002), calls Geobond, the "worlds first safe alternative to [[asbestos]]."<ref name=":2" /> Lemmelson-MIT notes its fireproof and resilient properties, calling it "the world's first workable replacement for asbestos."<ref name=":1" /> A 2017 book on women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers states that the Geobond architectural material is an "indestructible, fire-proof and non-toxic building material.” However, in 2001, [[Forbes]] described the product claims as hype, with no advantages over existing materials, pointed out that the company was moribund, with a skeleton staff, and probably unable to fill orders “if any”, but pointing out that it might have minor uses like "telephone poles in wildfire districts."<ref name="Smoked Out">{{cite news |last1=Fitch |first1=Stephane |title=Smoked Out |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0205/068s01.html?sh=474b078e4f0a |accessdate=7 November 2020 |publisher=Forbes |date=5 February 2001}}</ref> |
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Billings has an entry in the ''Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs, 1776 to the Present''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oppedisano |first1=Jeannette M. |title=Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs 1776 to the Present |date=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313306471 |page=46}}</ref> |
Billings has an entry in the ''Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs, 1776 to the Present''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oppedisano |first1=Jeannette M. |title=Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs 1776 to the Present |date=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313306471 |page=46}}</ref> Many of the references to her contain contain no supporting cites, or refer to preliminary sources, or each other, an example of the [[woozle effect]]. |
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== Early life and education == |
== Early life and education == |
Revision as of 21:39, 12 November 2020
Patricia Billings | |
---|---|
Born | 1926 |
Alma mater | Amarillo College |
Occupation(s) | sculptor, inventor |
Notable work | Geobond |
Patricia Billings (born 1926) is a sculptor, inventor and businesswoman. She invented the building material Geobond.[1] The book on women inventors, Patently Female (2002), calls Geobond, the "worlds first safe alternative to asbestos."[2] Lemmelson-MIT notes its fireproof and resilient properties, calling it "the world's first workable replacement for asbestos."[3] A 2017 book on women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers states that the Geobond architectural material is an "indestructible, fire-proof and non-toxic building material.” However, in 2001, Forbes described the product claims as hype, with no advantages over existing materials, pointed out that the company was moribund, with a skeleton staff, and probably unable to fill orders “if any”, but pointing out that it might have minor uses like "telephone poles in wildfire districts."[4]
Billings has an entry in the Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs, 1776 to the Present.[5] Many of the references to her contain contain no supporting cites, or refer to preliminary sources, or each other, an example of the woozle effect.
Early life and education
Patricia Billings was born in 1926 in Clinton, Missouri to a farmer and his wife.[6] She married a salesman and began working as a medical technologist, studying fungal and bacterial diseases at Kansas City Junior College.[6] She left that job in 1947 when she married; later she and her husband divorced.[6] Billings worked as a tuberculosis researcher at Kansas City Hospital.[7]
In 1956 she began studying art at Amarillo College.[3][2] She made plaster of Paris sculptures,[3] and in 1964 she opened a store in Kansas City where she sold many of her sculptures.[2] She sculpted a swan and after she finished, it collapsed and broke into pieces. She then decided to make a stronger substance for creating her sculptures.[8]
Career
Billings began researching materials in manuscripts from the Renaissance Era, where she learned that the plaster used in frescoes was fortified with a material similar to cement (but not cement); that material affected the chemical composition of the mixture, thereby strengthening it.[2] Eight years later she invented, in her basement lab,[2] the Geobond construction material.[9] She sent a 10-inch statue to a scientist who recognized the substance's worth.[6] It resists shock, fire and is non-toxic. It can withstand temperatures over 2000° Fahrenheit for up to four hours.[10][11] Geobond research was initially funded by Billings.[12]
Geobond was patented in 1997.[13] The resulting company, Geobond International Inc., began as a small 13-employee company in Kansas City, Missouri.[6] Production was at a Lenexa, Kansas facility until the company moved to a larger factory in Kansas City in 1996.[14][15] Geobond was available in over 20 markets throughout the world in 2006.[16] It was used in the construction of houses and was tested by the United States Air Force. Billings along with Susan Michalski also invented the FireTherm wall system.[12]
Popular Mechanics named Billings, in 2020, one of "37 Women Who’ve Upended Science, Tech, and Engineering For the Better" for her invention of Geobond which was recognized for its non-carcinogenic properties.[17] She has seven patents for inventions including building and roofing materials among others.[18]
Building material patents
In addition to the invention of Geobond, Billings has received several patents for building materials including modular wall panels and roofing tiles.[19] These include:
- 1997, US 5647180 A, Fire resistant building panel (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
- 1998, US 5795380 A, Lightweight roof tiles and method of production (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
- 2001, US 6230409 B1, Molded building panel and method of construction (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
- 2003, US 6557256 B2, Molded building panel and method of construction (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
- 2008, US 20080044648 A1, Heat protected construction members and method (Patricia Billings and David C. Rada)[19]
Billings and Susan Michalski developed a patented process and design for modular, fire-resistant molded building panels using a gypsum cement catalyst formula in layers between a framework of rigid studs.[20]
Personal life
Billings married at age 21; she divorced 17 years later. She has a daughter and two grandsons.[1]
References
- ^ a b Kumar, Amal (25 September 1996). "New Fireproof Building Material May Be Alternative to Asbestos". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Vare, Ethlie Ann. (2002). Patently female : from AZT to TV dinners : stories of women inventors and their breakthrough ideas. Ptacek, Greg. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471023345. OCLC 47183698.
- ^ a b c "Patricia Billings | Lemelson-MIT Program". lemelson.mit.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
- ^ Fitch, Stephane (5 February 2001). "Smoked Out". Forbes. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ Oppedisano, Jeannette M. (2000). Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs 1776 to the Present. Greenwood Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780313306471.
- ^ a b c d e "Her Big Break". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
- ^ Bedford, Melissa (21 January 1996). "Partnership pays off for Kansas City inventor". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Skorton, David; Bear, Editors, Ashley. The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree (PDF). National Academies Press: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-309-47061-2. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
{{cite book}}
:|last2=
has generic name (help) - ^ Nava, Alfonso (2000). American Science and Technology. McGraw Hill, (original University of Texas Press). p. 280. ISBN 9780072468717. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Inventions for the workplace: If you build it, it will last". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 25 March 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Cooperrider, David L.; Srivastva, Suresh (1998). Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage. New Lexington Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9780787910945. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ a b Bedford, Melissa (21 January 1996). "Partnership pays off for Kansas City inventor". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Francini, Frederini; Garda, Emilia; Serazin, Helena; Groot, Marjan (2017). Women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers between 1918 and 1945. Slovenia: Založba ZRC. p. 2024. ISBN 9789610500339. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Meyer, Gene (1996-05-03). "KC product can take the heat part 1". The Kansas City Star. p. 19. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "KC product can take the heat part 2". The Kansas City Star. 1996-05-03. p. 24. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Patricia Billings". Engineering.com. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Linder, Courtney (February 2020). "37 Women Who've Upended Science, Tech, and Engineering For the Better". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Patricia Billings patents". Google patents. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Patricia Billings, de escultora a inventora del Geobond® (25 March, 2016)". Mu´jeres con Ciencia. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Billings, Patricia; Michalski, Susan; Earth Products, Ltd. "Molded building panel and method of construction". Retrieved 5 November 2020.