World War II Veteran Attended the 2019 Induction Ceremony

During the 2019 National Inventors Hall of Fame®(NIHF) Induction Ceremony, with an authentic Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins Boat on display, NIHF was very excited that Inductee and World War II Veteran Robert Seiwald attended the Induction and Illumination Ceremonies.

NIHF is honored to have Inducted many World War II veterans. Seiwald served with the U.S. Army in Europe and is one of only a few living WWII veterans among our NIHF Inductees.

Advancing Diagnostics

Robert Seiwald and his co-inventor Joseph Burckhalter developed and patented the first practical antibody labeling agent, fluorescein isothiocyanate, better known as FITC. This stable, yellow-green fluorescent compound became widely used for rapid, accurate and economical identification of infectious diseases.

Before this invention, infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis were difficult to identify.

Attending Our Induction Ceremony

Each year, NIHF welcomes a new class of world-changing innovators. We are honored that Seiwald joined us in celebrating the 2019 class, including NIHF historical Inductee Andrew Higgins.

Higgins was honored for his LCVP, which was used for the historic D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy and for island hopping through Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa during World War II.

Since his 1995 Induction, Seiwald has regularly attended the Induction Ceremony to welcome other world-changers to the Hall of Fame.