Issue 03/2016

Cover story
By
Michael Thielen
An idea that is
changing the
world
(Photo courtesy Jen Owen)
Info
Videoclip: http://bit.ly/1TJ9tV1
Michael Thielen with Jen Owen at ITR 2016
(Photo courtesy NatureWorks)
Have you ever experienced a standing ovation at a technical
conference? I certainly never had – at least, not until
recently. And that’s a story I now feel a need to share
with you.
At this year’s ITR event, organized by NatureWorks at the
end of March in Orlando (see a comprehensive conference
report on p 12), the second day of the conference was opened
by keynote speaker Jen Owen, with a presentation on a
very special project she and her husband had more or less
accidentally stumbled into. So special, in fact, that she was
willing to get up on stage and talk about it, even though, as
she put it: “Public speaking is like my worst fear, so, I just
want to put that out there, and I’m being brave today.”
And with that, she launched into a story that was riveting,
inspiring, heart-warming and funny, all at the same time.
“I come from a home where quite often something is set on
fire, launched through the air or turned into a fruit-murdering
device,” she deadpanned. “If you don’t believe me, I’m going to
show you what I mean.” And for readers who need convincing,
right now would be a good time to check out this YouTube clip
(see link on this page).
Jen and Ivan Owen’s adventure started in 2011, when
Ivan made himself a giant functional mechanical hand, that
worked using rings and strings, to go with his costume for a
Steam Punk convention. Just for fun, Ivan posted the video on
YouTube – where it was seen by a carpenter in South Africa,
who reached out to him with an unusual question. “Richard
had lost all the fingers of his dominant hand in a woodworking
accident,” Jen explained. And since a conventional prosthesis
– even just for one finger – was way too expensive, he wanted
to ask Ivan if he could help. And Ivan agreed. “Of course he
agreed!” Jen added.
The two, Ivan and Richard, spent the next year collaborating
via e-mail and Skype over 10,000 miles and through different
time zones. Ivan did some research and found a prosthetic
hand that had been carved from whalebones in 1845 by an
Australian dentist for a man who had lost his hand in a cannon
accident. Using cables and pulleys, this hand worked in the
same way as the one Ivan had created for himself. Inspired
by the design, the first prototype of a one finger prosthesis
for Richard was cobbled together from paper towel tubes,
PVC-pipe, leather, rivets and the like. Almost a year after the
start, Ivan was able to fly over to South Africa (somebody had
donated frequent flyer miles), so that, together with Richard,
the prosthesis, could be finetuned.
Meanwhile, as Jen had been broadcasting the progress of
the project all over the internet, it wasn’t long before a mother
– also from South Africa – contacted the Owens, asking
whether it would be possible to make a full set of fingers
for her young son, Liam. Liam had been born with one hand
14 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/16] Vol. 11