Drexel Engineers Commemorate Creation of Barcode October 22,
2012 — In 1952 a pair of graduate students from school then
called the Drexel Institute of Technology, patented a system for
instant electronic recall of product information using patterns
of lines of varying widths. Sixty years later, the barcode
remains an enduring symbol of technology that’s stood the test
of time. On Monday, Oct. 22 Drexel and the IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers) will commemorate the
anniversary of this invention by dedicating a plaque honoring
Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in Drexel’s Bossone
Research Enterprise Center. The ceremony will dub Drexel, “The
Birthplace of the Barcode,” as an official IEEE Milestone in
Electrical Engineering and Computing. The IEEE Milestone program
is part of the organization’s initiative to recognize
historically significant contributions to engineering and
technology. At present, there are approximately 100 IEEE
Milestones worldwide. “Drexel University is extre