A group that promotes Iowans who change lives with their inventions is naming two more distinguished people to its ranks this week. Heidi Nebel is president of the Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association, which is naming its Iowa Inventor of the Year. Nebel says it’s Dr. Mark Stinski, a virology professor at the University of Iowa. Stinski was chosen for the award based on his work in discovering the cytomegalovirus promoter, which is a primary research tool used in gene therapy and is widely used in cancer treatments and in organ transplants. The other person being honored is 90-year-old George Nissen, a Blairstown native who will be inducted into the Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame. During the Great Depression era, Nebel says Nissen invented the trampoline and the sport of trampolining. In addition to creating many other sports-related inventions and holding more than 40 patents, Nissen founded Nissen Equipment in Cedar Rapids, one of the world’s largest suppliers of gymnastic equipment. This marks the 25th year for these awards which will be presented at the group’s annual banquet on Friday night in Des Moines.
