To mark the 150th anniversary of BU Professor Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone, here are some other notable society-changing ideas and products to emerge from BU
By Doug Most
The telephone, invented 150 years ago this month by Boston University School of Oratory Professor Alexander Graham Bell, is pretty tough to top as far as inventions that came out of BU (or anywhere) and changed the world. But lots of other innovations, philosophies, and trailblazing individuals at BU, including many from the College of Engineering, have made profound and lasting differences across society.
How has BU impacted the world? Here are some of the ways:
Modern smartphone screens
Professor Emeritus Theodore Moustakas (MSE, ECE) discovered and patented methods for making gallium nitride films with high crystalline quality, a pioneering move that led to the development of blue LED lights and ultimately to white LEDs. White LEDs were instrumental in modern smartphone and computer screens and began our gradual move away from incandescent light bulbs to LED bulbs.
A bionic pancreas
Research Professor Ed Damiano (BME), whose son has diabetes, set out on a personal mission to create a device that would make it easier for people with type 1 diabetes to deliver the right amount of insulin to their body. The Food & Drug Administration approved Damiano’s iLet, and it was named one of Time’s “Best Inventions of 2023.”
Skin cancer detector
By using artificial intelligence and an elastic scattering spectroscopy, DermaSensor, a handheld device rooted in technology developed by Professor Irving J. Bigio (BME, ECE), is able to examine skin lesions to determine if a person should see a specialist. It’s the first device of its kind that the FDA cleared for use by nonspecialist physicians.
Hormone sensor
A start-up that was founded by Professor James Galagan (BME, ECE) called BioSens8 is developing wearable technology able to monitor hormone levels in real time. Functioning almost like a glucose monitoring patch, the device will prove especially valuable in measuring estrogen and progesterone levels during fertility, which could help identify the best time for in vitro fertilization treatments and eliminate the need for a special doctor’s visit.
Faster, cheaper MRIs
One of the most powerful and important, but also expensive, medical diagnostic technologies, is MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging. But what if MRIs were cheaper, more easily accessible, and led to more equitable healthcare around the world? That’s what Distinguished Professor of Engineering Xin Zhang (ME, ECE, BME, MSE) created with her Laboratory for Microsystems Technology. Her invention, named by Time as one of its “Best Inventions of 2025,” creates devices that boost the effectiveness of MRI scanners without needing more electrical power, by using material structures, called metamaterials, and inexpensive parts, like widely available electrical cables and wires.
And many more! Read the full story at BU Today.
Photo credits: Rahul Chakraborty, Cydney Scott, DermaSensor, Melissa Ostrow, Jackie Ricciardi