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304:...she forwarded a sample to Heinz Poppendiek, an expert on thermal properties of matter who heads GeoScience Laboratories, an independent testing lab in San Diego. "I was surprised by its properties," he recalls. With some pointers from Dr. Poppendiek, Ms. Billings went to work on improving the material's heat-resistance and other properties.
207:." Lemmelson-MIT notes its fireproof and resilient properties, calling it "the world's first workable replacement for asbestos." A 2017 book on women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers states that the Geobond architectural material is an "indestructible, fire-proof and non-toxic building material.”
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The daughter of a
Clinton, Mo., farmer and his wife, she attended Kansas City Junior College and worked as a medical technologist studying fungal and bacterial diseases. She quit in 1947 when she married a plate-glass salesman, from whom she was later divorced. It was in 1956, while living in Texas,
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was fortified with a material similar to cement (but not cement); that material affected the chemical composition of the mixture, thereby strengthening it. Eight years later she invented, in her basement lab, the
Geobond construction material. She sent a 10-inch statue made of her new material to a
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Geobond research was initially funded by
Billings.; it was patented in 1997. The resulting company, Geobond International Inc., began as a small 13-employee company in Kansas City, Missouri. Production was at a
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History is full of examples of people who drew upon their talent and passion for science and art to drive new discoveries and advances...sculptor
Patricia Billings invented "geobond" while trying to improve
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named
Billings, in 2020, one of "37 Women Who’ve Upended Science, Tech, and Engineering For the Better" for her invention of Geobond which was recognized for its non-carcinogenic properties.
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Billings, 69, began developing the GeoBond formula several years ago in an effort to find something better than plaster with which to make castings of statues and other art objects.
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facility until the company moved to a larger factory in Kansas City in 1996. Billings along with Susan
Michalski also invented the FireTherm wall system, which combines
232:
In addition to the invention of
Geobond, Billings has received several patents for building materials including modular wall panels and roofing tiles. These include:
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The wall tested by
Underwriters Laboratories was made by putting GeoBond over metal lath and tarpaper. Billings and Michalski call it the FireTherm system.
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to a farmer and his wife. She married a salesman and began working as a medical technologist, studying fungal and bacterial diseases at
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and after she finished, it collapsed and broke into pieces. She then decided to make a stronger substance for creating her sculptures.
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The
Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree
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Billings and Susan
Michalski developed a patented process and design for modular, fire-resistant molded building panels using a
95:(born 1926) is a sculptor, inventor and businesswoman. She invented the building material Geobond. Billings has an entry in the
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with Geobond. Building materials based on Geobond were available in over 20 markets throughout the world in 2006.
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2008, US 20080044648 A1, Heat protected construction members and method (Patricia Billings and David C. Rada)
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2003, US 6557256 B2, Molded building panel and method of construction (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
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2001, US 6230409 B1, Molded building panel and method of construction (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
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Patently female : from AZT to TV dinners : stories of women inventors and their breakthrough ideas
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1998, US 5795380 A, Lightweight roof tiles and method of production (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
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The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education
115:. She left that job in 1947 when she married; later she and her husband divorced. Billings worked as a
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770:. National Academies Press: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. p. 53.
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Billings married at age 21; she divorced 17 years later. She has a daughter and two grandsons.
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published a profile of Billings that also described fire-resistance testing of Geobond by
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1997, US 5647180 A, Fire resistant building panel (Patricia Billings and Susan Michalski)
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Women designers, craftswomen, architects and engineers between 1918 and 1945
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Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs, 1776 to the Present
826:"Patricia Billings, de escultora a inventora del Geobond® (25 March, 2016)"
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Francini, Frederini; Garda, Emilia; Serazin, Helena; Groot, Marjan (2017).
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Historical Encyclopedia of American Women Entrepreneurs 1776 to the Present
126:. She made plaster of Paris sculptures, and in 1964 she opened a store in
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681:"37 Women Who've Upended Science, Tech, and Engineering For the Better"
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482:. McGraw Hill, (original University of Texas Press). p. 280.
292:"New Fireproof Building Material May Be Alternative to Asbestos"
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catalyst formula in layers between a framework of rigid studs.
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Billings's work has been featured in newspapers (including the
706:"Inventions for the workplace: If you build it, it will last"
203:(2002), calls Geobond the "world's first safe alternative to
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Billings began researching materials in manuscripts from the
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Billings, Patricia; Michalski, Susan; Earth Products, Ltd.
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where she sold many of her sculptures. She sculpted a
151:scientist, who encouraged her to persist. In 1996,
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874:"Molded building panel and method of construction"
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727:Cooperrider, David L.; Srivastva, Suresh (1998).
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537:"Partnership pays off for Kansas City inventor"
379:"Partnership pays off for Kansas City inventor"
146:, where she learned that the plaster used in
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730:Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage
218:Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage
406:"Patricia Billings | Lemelson-MIT Program"
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708:. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 25, 2007
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163:Fire Department, and a government lab at
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761:Skorton, David; Bear, Editors, Ashley.
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567:. Slovenia: ZaloĹľba ZRC. p. 2024.
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828:. Mu´jeres con Ciencia. March 25, 2016
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447:. Ptacek, Greg. New York: Wiley.
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513:. CBS News. March 25, 1999
439:Vare, Ethlie Ann. (2002).
113:Kansas City Junior College
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916:American women inventors
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