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Symposia & Conferences

The Inventor and the Innovative Society

New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation

Thomas Edison
Places of Invention

Thomas Edison's Places of Invention

Edison's famous "invention factories" in Menlo Park and West Orange, New Jersey.

Ashok Gadgil, 1998
Beyond Words

Podcast: Ashok Gadgil's Thirst to Save Lives, Part 1 (of 2)

Ashok Gadgil's invention can save thousands of lives by purifying water quickly and cheaply.

Ashok Gadgil, 1998
Beyond Words

Podcast: Ashok Gadgil Inspires Future Inventors, Part 2 (of 2)

Ashok Gadgil talks about his work to improve health in the developing world.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: The Right To Sight: Patricia Bath

Trailblazer Dr. Patricia Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe for the treatment of cataracts and continues to passionately fight for the prevention, treatment, and cure of blindness.

Inventor George Carruthers
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: George Carruthers, Lunar Learning

Astrophysicist George Carruthers got his start building a telescope when he was ten years old. Eventually, astronauts used his invention to take ultraviolet pictures of Earth from space for the first time.

David Gittens in his Ikenga gyroplane
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Ikenga—The Revolutionary Gyroplane

Industrial designer David Gittens turned his dreams into reality by designing an improved gyroplane, an aircraft with a rotor powered by wind. The Gyro 2000 Ikenga 530Z is now part of the National Air and Space Museum's collections.

Beyond Words

Podcast: James McLurkin Explores Robot Communities

In an early Lemelson Center program, a young MIT researcher, James McLurkin, explains how his robots work like a group of ants.

Inventor Hal Walker
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Hal Walker, The Coherent Light of Persistence

Hal Walker's life is a lesson in hard work and conviction. "In my experience," he asserts, "an awareness of how things work helps an individual to master events around him."

A stylized drawing of a compact fluorescent light bulb surrounded by a solid orange circle with a green border
Invention Stories

SmartLevel: The Soul of a New Hand Tool

Hand levels are one of the standard tools in the kits of house builders, plumbers, and many other tradespeople. Until 1990, all levels were bubble-type spirit levels.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman's Unfolding World, Part 1 (of 2)

Chuck Hoberman, artist and engineer, discusses his innovative unfolding structures.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman Inspires the Next Generation, Part 2 (of 2)

Middle school students interview Chuck Hoberman about his innovative unfolding structures.

Photo of Arthur Ganson
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Arthur Ganson, Metaphysics in Motion

Playing with objects and ideas—bringing them together and setting them in motion—is the work of kinetic sculptor and inventor Arthur Ganson.

Visitors on a behind the scenes tour during the Color of Invention symposium examine textiles.
Symposia & Conferences

The Colors of Invention: An Exploration of Color, Technology, and Culture

From the 1997 Lemelson Center Symposium

Rear view of a cyclist traveling downhill on Augspurger’s handcycle
Invention Stories

Mike Augspurger: Handcycle Inventor

Mike Augspurger—a mountain biker and bicycle builder—created an innovative all-terrain handcycle for wheelchair athletes.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Mike Augspurger, Titanium Transformed

Mike Augspurger is an expert cyclist, a skilled machinist, and a designer and builder of bicycles. Augspurger, founder of One-Off Titanium, Inc., is a specialist in custom and unusual titanium frame bicycles, including the first all-terrain handcycle designed for wheelchair athletes.

Photo of Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connelly with a prototype accessible snowboard
Invention Stories

Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connolly: Accessible Snowboard Inventors

While in college, these inventors designed a snowboard that works for people who can't use their legs.

Inventor Krysta Morlan uses her Waterbike in the pool
Invention Stories

Krysta Morlan: Waterbike Inventor

While still in high school, Krysta Morlan invented the Waterbike—a semi-submersible, fin-propelled vehicle powered by the rider’s legs.

Photo of Van Phillips running using his invention, the Flex-Foot
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Artificial Parts: Van Phillips

How a tragic accident led to breakthroughs in prosthetic science.

Art Fry, Inventor of the Post-It
Invention Stories

Art Fry: Post-it® Note Inventor

Art Fry turned a failed experiment into a new way to communicate or organize information.

See More Stories

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