The object
Joseph M. Jacobson co-invented electronic ink and electronic-paper display hardware. Electronic paper combined flexible display materials with digital addressing, creating a durable reading surface that could update text while preserving the familiar appearance of ink on paper.
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What Joseph did
Co-invented electronic ink and electronic-paper display hardware.
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Why it matters
Electronic paper created a widely recognized physical reading-device category.
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Living-status check
NIHF's official profile says Jacobson is currently head of MIT Media Lab's Molecular Machines research group. Current institutional evidence in 2026.