HispanicBusiness

As part of its Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recognized inventions by U.S. Hispanics. Physicist Luis Alvarez, one of the inventors of the hydrogen bubble chamber, received a patent in 1949 for an early version of radar. Victor Ochoa, born in 1850 in Mexico, held patents for two adjustable wrenches, the reversible motor, and the magnetic rail brake for streetcars. Ellen Ochoa, who became the first Hispanic female astronaut in 1990, is listed as co-inventor on three patents for optical information-processing equipment. On the trademark side, the tribute highlighted Selena, Goya, Miami Sound Machine, Tecate, and Corona as Hispanic marketing icons.

Besides its importance to manufacturers and R&D firms engaged in federal procurement, the USPTO maintains an Office of Procurement. To learn about current and future opportunities, visit it on the Web at www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/comp/proc/businopp.htm. Capability statements from small-business suppliers can be submitted online at www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/comp/proc/sbreach.htm.