AAMC Reporter: September 2008

An Eye for Invention

Ophthalmologist John Shock, M.D.

Have you ever been folding laundry and realized that a sock was missing its twin? Or you sit down to your morning cereal only to taste stale corn flakes? If so, you may want to consult with John Shock, M.D., who as an amateur inventor is always searching for the keys to these and other eternal conundrums.

Shock, chair of the ophthalmology department at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine, realized his knack for innovation 30 years ago when he patented a new cataract surgery technique. Since the 1990s, his ingenuity has translated into solutions for more everyday concerns.

Take the Sock Lock, a device that keeps a pair of socks together in the washer and dryer. You will never lose a pair again, Shock promises.

Shock's Box Loc may seem at first glance to be just a piece of elastic and two suction cups, but when wrapped around a box top, it's a bona fide food freshener. And if you want to make sure your half-full can of soda is still fizzy hours later, use the Soda Stop, a device that covers the can's opening to keep the bubbles in.

"Each step is a discovery," Shock says of the invention process.

"Sometimes you get frustrated and walk away, and then you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea." Endurance, he says, is a key ingredient.

"You need persistence and patience," he says. "You go through many prototypes, make a little progress, and come closer and closer to a solution."

All of his inventions, like a stick ruler that pulls out an oven rack and also measures the sizes of baking dishes, are different, but they share two elements: utility and simplicity.

"I start by thinking of a problem and trying to solve it as simply as possible," Shock says. "And each creation ends up being something useful and purposeful."

—By Elissa Fuchs