A Time Magazine honor bestowed to Stanford University in California has caught the attention of LeTourneau University, which claims the magazine didn't do its homework.
On its Web site, the magazine listed an inexpensive prosthetic called the Jaipur Foot among the 50 best inventions of 2009. LeTourneau officials dispute that claim, saying the Jaipur Foot is the exact same technology as prosthetic knees created by LeTourneau undergraduate students five years ago.
"This is not a new invention for 2009," LeTourneau spokeswoman Janet Ragland said. "We have proof that we've been doing this for five years."
Stanford University spokesman David Orenstein said he understands that engineering professors from both universities know each other, but added, "We're confident that our design is distinct, but that we really can't comment in any detail until we know more fully what's being claimed."
The LeTourneau Empowering Global Solutions program combines students, faculty, professional associates and overseas collaborators to create solutions in prosthetic technology, visual literacy, irrigation and food preservation for underdeveloped countries. The program began in 2004, Ragland said.
LeTourneau Associate Vice President of Research and Associate Dean of Engineering Roger Gonzalez said LeTourneau's prosthetic knee costs $15 for patients and has reached four nations, with 20 clinics using the prosthetic. The Jaipur Foot is used in one city and costs $20, but it has the same width, thickness, placement of bolts and dimensions as LeTourneau's prosthetic.
Gonzalez said he traveled to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., about three weeks ago to meet with engineering department officials there after learning about the Jaipur Foot. He later saw the Time Magazine report which neither credited nor referenced LeTourneau in any way, he said.
LeTourneau's prosthetic can be locally manufactured and meets international standards of testing, something Stanford's prosthetic can not, Gonzalez said. Ragland added that Gonzalez has given keynote addresses about the LEGS program at several national stages including the 2008 National Science Foundation Conference and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology conference in 2008 at Lake Tahoe, Nev. LeTourneau's program was also featured in a Dallas Morning News front page article in June 2008.
"If (Time Magazine) would have done their proper research, they would have discovered this," LeTourneau Vice President of Academic Affairs Robert Hudson said. "We're not going to get publicity, but we have been involved in this over the years, very successfully so."
Ragland said she tried contacting Time Magazine's editorial department including contributing writer Lev Grossman since Thursday but has yet to get a call or message back. The Longview News-Journal's attempts Friday to contact Time Magazine's editorial staff were unsuccessful.
