Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award: Norman R. McCombs, BS '68, of Tonawanda, N.Y.

Norman R. McCombs has a mechanical engineering degree from the University at Buffalo. He has been involved in research and development all of his professional life. He founded the Xorbox Corporation in 1973, which evolved into AirSep Corporation in 1986.

Located in Amherst, AirSep is world renowned as a manufacturer of pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen systems for myriad medical and industrial applications.

His innovative patents and breakthrough contributions are most notable in the technology of PSA. Through his extraordinary work in the development, design and manufacture of portable oxygen concentrators, he has alleviated the suffering of millions worldwide, and through his industry, has created jobs for thousands.

His expertise led to the creation of the world's first portable oxygen concentrator, which has become a viable, safe and affordable source of oxygen therapy necessary for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other lung diseases.

McCombs continued refining the system and its design, which he reduced from 200 pounds in 1973 to 45 pounds in 1980, and, most recently, to under 2 pounds in an ambulatory device safe enough to have won approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for use on board aircraft, allowing affordable, safe travel for hundreds of thousands for whom it was not previously possible.

He also originated the application of PSA systems in a variety of uses, including metal cutting, fish farming, gold mining and glass processing.

Honored in 2007 with the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, McCombs, who has more than 40 patents in the United States and hundreds more internationally, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Patent Lawyers Association in 2004, named a Distinguished Alumni by Erie Community College in 2006, was named the 2007 Engineer of the Year by the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and was presented its highest honor, the Dean's Award, in 2008.