A Lifetime of Innovation

The journey of Talat Karmo and his 42 patents

By Paul Natinsky

Talat Karmo’s 42-year career—so far—aligns well with his authorship of 42 U.S. patents, mostly for General Motors and Ford Motor Company. Karmo holds a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry. Now 70 and twice retired, he has taken on a new challenge, demonstrating a reluctance to step away from the intellectual and emotional energy he finds in the workplace.

“I am a scientist at heart,” he says. Currently, Karmo serves as a manager at Vintech Industries, a global tier-two supplier. While he performs administrative functions managing employees and day-to-day operations, he also engages actively in technical matters, which he considers his passion.

Karmo recently presented a lecture at a conference in Troy, Michigan, before a packed house. He basked in the applause and engaged with attendees who had numerous questions for him on his way out. He simply can’t find a reason to stop working. “Tell me, my friend, what would I do at home?” he asks.

Intellectual and emotional incentives keep Karmo in the game, but his legacy is also at the forefront of his mind. Those 42 U.S. patents, along with 23 granted in Germany, 21 in China, 18 in Mexico, and five in Russia, are akin to bestsellers for a novelist, hit records for a singer, or no-hitters for a pitcher.

“There are no royalties, per se,” Karmo explains. Bonuses accrue based on how far a patent travels toward implementation. “I don’t have the rights to those patents. If I did, my friend, I would be a billionaire,” he adds. In some cases, the company might structure it so he receives 3% of net revenue up to $50,000, or a similar arrangement. However, Karmo emphasizes, “Don’t think of me as Elon Musk.”

He believes the arrangement is fair, as companies provide the labs, five-figure legal fees, and other costs associated with patent development. Many of Karmo’s patents involve highly technical matters. A complete listing, along with descriptions of each patent, is publicly available on the Washington Patent Office website. A quick search of Karmo’s name yields similar information.

When asked which patent the public may find especially interesting, he cites a process involving coconut shells. Karmo and his team synthesized a new plastic material using recycled coconut shell waste made into a powder, which was used as a filler instead of talc. Ford utilized this material to create plastic molding for the Mustang, preventing many coconut shells from ending up in landfills while also replacing potentially cancer-causing talc.

Karmo’s journey began in northern Iraq, passing through England and northern Ohio before reaching Detroit. He was born in Telkaif, Iraq, and grew up in Baghdad, where he completed his elementary and secondary education and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Baghdad.

Supported by his family, he moved to England to finish his postgraduate education, earning a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering with a specialization in polymeric materials from the University of Lancaster. He later immigrated to the United States to join his family. The first stop was in Cleveland, Ohio as a Postdoctoral Research and Faculty member at Case Western Reserve University. Later, he moved to Detroit as Manager of Materials Engineering at GM and Ford.

Professionally, Karmo has served as past chairman of the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers. He has also been actively involved in his community, serving as past president of the Iraqi American Graduate Association and participating in the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan, where he has chaired various committees for the past 44 years.

Despite his busy professional life, Karmo finds time to enjoy family life. He is married to Outour and has two sons, Brandon and Dillon, both of whom are medical doctors, as well as six grandchildren: Luke, Grace, Cameron, Roman, Celine, and Izabel.

For an engaged professional in a global industry, Karmo dislikes business travel. “If I cross the Atlantic, I want to be on the beach for two weeks somewhere,” he says.