Eric S. Hintz is an historian with the Lemelson Center. He currently serves as a curator on two exhibitions, Places of Invention and American Enterprise, and is responsible for producing the Center’s annual symposium series, “New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation.” In addition, Eric coordinates the Lemelson Center’s fellowship and grant programs; assists in the collection of historically significant artifacts and documents; and pursues opportunities to speak and write about his scholarly interests. Eric’s research interests include the history of science and technology and US business and economic history; he specializes in the history of invention and R&D. He has discussed his work on MSNBC and National Public Radio; his publications have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Technology and Culture, the Business History Review, Enterprise and Society, and Research-Technology Management. Eric is currently working on a book that considers the changing fortunes of American independent inventors from 1900-1950, an era of expanding corporate R&D.
Eric earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame (1996), then worked for nearly six years in San Francisco and Silicon Valley as a technology consultant for Accenture, a leading services firm. After leaving the corporate world, he taught both science and history at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco before pursuing graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his M.A. (2005) and Ph.D. (2010) in the history and sociology of science.
