Norman Joseph Woodland

Norman Joseph Woodland
Born	Template:Birth date Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 9, 2012(2012-12-09) (aged 91) Edgewater, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Engineer, inventor
Known for	Co-creating the barcode

Norman Joseph Woodland (September 6, 1921 – December 9, 2012) was an American engineer and inventor, renowned for co-creating the barcode, for which he secured a patent in October 1952. During his tenure at IBM, he played a key role in designing the format that evolved into the widely adopted Universal Product Code (UPC), integral to product labeling and retail scanning systems.

Early life and career

Born on September 6, 1921, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Woodland completed his education at Atlantic City High School. He contributed to World War II efforts as a technical assistant on the Manhattan Project based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In 1947, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University (formerly Drexel Institute of Technology) and subsequently served as a lecturer there between 1948 and 1949.

Developing the bar code

In 1948, Woodland collaborated with fellow Drexel graduate student Bernard Silver to create technology for automatic product identification after learning about a supermarket executive’s interest in such innovation. Drawing inspiration from Morse code, Woodland devised a two-dimensional linear coding system by translating dots and dashes into varying line widths. Utilizing optical sound film techniques, they filed a patent application on October 20, 1949, which was granted in 1952 for their "Classifying Apparatus and Method," encompassing both linear barcodes and circular bulls-eye patterns.

Woodland joined IBM in 1951 but sold the patent in 1952 for $15,000 to Philco, which subsequently transferred ownership to RCA. RCA pursued commercialization throughout the 1960s until the patent's expiration in 1969.

Interest from the National Association of Food Chains led to the establishment of a committee focused on creating a Uniform Grocery Product Code. IBM renewed its involvement with barcode technology in 1971, relocating Woodland to its North Carolina facility where he contributed to developing the UPC format that eventually surpassed RCA’s initiatives.

The inaugural UPC-scanned product was a pack of chewing gum sold at an Ohio supermarket in 1974.

Death

Woodland passed away due to complications related to Alzheimer's disease on December 9, 2012, in Edgewater, New Jersey.

Awards

• In 1973, Woodland received IBM’s Outstanding Contribution Award.
• The National Medal of Technology was bestowed upon him in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush for his significant contributions to barcode technology.
• Drexel University conferred an honorary degree upon him in 1998.
• In 2011, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.