In 1949, Earl Bakken co-founded Medtronic, one of the world's leading developer and manufacturer of therapeutic medical devices, as a partnership with the late Palmer J. Hermundslie. Mr. Bakken was Medtronic's chief executive officer and chairman of the board from the company's incorporation in 1957 until 1976. He was senior chairman of the board until his retirement as an officer of Medtronic in April 989. Mr. Bakken remains active in Medtronic.

Born in 1924 in Minneapolis, Minn., Mr. Bakken served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar maintenance instructor until 1946 when he enrolled at the University of Minnesota. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1948, he studied electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics at the University of Minnesota Graduate School.

Mr. Bakken developed the first wearable, external, battery-powered, transistorized pacemaker in 1957 for Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, a University of Minnesota heart surgeon.

In retirement, Mr. Bakken heads the board of directors of the North Hawaii Community Hospital and its developing healing center. The center will emphasize a balance of technology and the human touch to provide patient-centered, cost efficient health care.

Earl Bakken shares the National Academy of Engineering's 2001 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize with Wilson Greatbatch.