She Invented 3D Tech in 1980—Surgeons Still Use It" In 1980, NASA scientist Valerie Thomas patented the "illusion transmitter"—technology that transmits three-dimensional images using concave mirrors. NASA still uses it today, surgeons rely on it to see inside the human body, and it laid the groundwork for modern 3D imaging. This is her story. Valerie Thomas was born on February 8, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland. At age eight, fascinated by how things worked, she borrowed a library book called "Th