Investing in People History Jim Onstott Proves That Persistence Pays in Optical Fibers Jim Onstott Innovation doesn't start with recognition and applause.
Dedicated innovators recognize that they know their own field better than others do.
The credibility they earn is based on their consistent honesty and accuracy. Sometimes you have to take the long view with innovative ideas. Consider the case of Jim Onstott, who joined 3M in 1973 after earning a doctorate from Case Western Reserve University. Eager to pursue new lines of research, Onstott became involved, four years later, in an early fiber optics project supported by the Electronic Products Division. The 1970s was a heady time for scientists in the newly created fiber optics field, which replaced electrons with light as a medium of communication.