Middle sentence of second paragraph is the most relevant.
Otis Frank Boykin was born in 1920 in Dallas, Texas. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a carpenter. He worked as a laboratory assistant at the nearby University's aerospace laboratory. Otis attended Fisk University and Illinois Institute of Technology, but dropped out after two years because his parents could not afford his tuition.
Boykin, in his lifetime, ultimately invented more than 25 electronic devices. One of his early inventions was an improved electrical resistor for computers, radios, televisions and an assortment of other electronic devices. Other notable inventions include a variable resistor used in guided missiles and small component thick-film resistors for computers.[2] ---------------
So how can one improve an electrical resistor?