The light bulb, telephone and color television.
An adhesive bandage, benzodiazepine and the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The transistor — and the solar cell.
It can feel as if every great invention over the past 150 years was created in New
Jersey.
NJ BASE, the new N.J Economic Development Authority-led initiative designed to bring
international companies to the state, makes that point not so subtly inside its offices in
Jersey City. (The office opened Friday.)
A copy of the patent for each of these inventions (extra credit if you know what
benzodiazepine is) hangs on the wall here — an office space that aims to work with
cohorts of 12 to 20 companies looking to establish a presence in the state.
Andrew Gross, the Director of International Innovation and Partnerships at the EDA,
said the idea was the brainchild of the EDA’s marketing and communications team.
“It’s a reminder for all these companies from around the wall of the centrality and the
importance of New Jersey in the global economy,” he told BINJE. “Everybody loved the
idea.”
And what it means, Gross said.
“You can see New York City from almost every window in here,” he said. “It’s
impressive. But these patents are a reminder of all of the impressive things that New
Jersey can claim.”
And perhaps, just as importantly, where those companies are standing.
Just wait until the folks in the cohort find out where Ellis Island is located.
