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Found 63 Stories
Luis von Ahn stands in front of a large red ReCAPTCHA logo while speaking at the 2009 Pop!Tech conference in Camden, Maine.
Blog

Human Computation Pioneer Luis von Ahn

Meet Luis von Ahn, winner of the 2018 Lemelson-MIT Prize honoring world-changing inventors!

Screenshot of Douglas Engelbart presenting the mother of all demos on 9 December 1968. Engelbart wears a headset and his head and shoulders appear on the right side of the screen. Part of a shopping list, including grocery items bananas, carrots, lettuce, beans, and more, is on the left side.
Blog

The Mother of All Demos

In December 1968, Douglas Engelbart debuted many of the concepts of modern, interactive computing.

2015 Lemelson Fellow Stephen B. Adams
Beyond Words

Video Lecture: Before the Garage: Beginnings of Silicon Valley, 1909–1960

Stephen Adams, Lemelson Center Fellow and Professor at Salisbury University examines the origins of the Silicon Valley as we know it today.

2015 Lemelson Fellow Gerardo Con Diaz
Beyond Words

Video Lecture: Intellectual Property and Hobby Software in the 1970s

Gerardo Con Diaz, Lemelson Center Fellow and PhD. candidate at Yale University, discusses his dissertation, "Intellectual Property and Hobby Software in the 1970s."

Cover to the book, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt Beyer
Lemelson Center Books

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (2009) by Kurt Beyer reveals the vibrant, complex, and intriguing woman whose career paralleled the rise of the postwar computer industry.

Invention Stories

Remembering Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl Ad

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Apple’s famous “1984” television ad that aired on January 22, 1984 during the third quarter of the Super Bowl XVIII between the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. Historian Eric Hintz describes how the “1984” ad and the introduction of the Apple Macintosh were key milestones both in the history of computing and the history of advertising.

Norman Winarsky
Beyond Words

Podcast: Norman Winarsky Taps into Silicon Valley’s Culture of Innovation

At SRI International, Winarsky builds on the ground-breaking work of Douglas Engelbart, using computers to augment human ability.

Prototype of the first computer mouse
Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Silicon Valley and the Beginnings of the Computer Revolution in the 1970s

Places of Invention tells the stories of historic and modern communities where people, resources, and spaces have come together to spark inventiveness.

Cover to the book, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt Beyer
Beyond Words

Podcast: Grace Hopper Led America into the Information Age

Author Kurt Beyer describes the life and legacy of inventor and computer programmer Grace Murray Hopper.

Internet Alley book cover
Lemelson Center Books

Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945-2005

Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945-2005 (2008) by Paul Ceruzzi looks at how government military contractors and high-tech firms transformed an unincorporated suburban crossroads into the center of the world's Internet management and governance.

Logo graphic showing 4 light bulbs in chronological order: 2 incandescent, CFL, and LED
Beyond Words

Podcast: The Killer App that Killed the Typewriter

We reminisce about 1980s computer technology and how the innovation of word processing tipped PCs to the mainstream.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Sperry Corporation Aerospace Division Records, 1948-1975

Inventor Name Unknown

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Geoffrey David Austrian Research Notes on Herman Hollerith, 1860-1990 (bulk 1860-1929)

Inventor Name Hollerith, Herman

MIND database logo for Smithsonian-held archival materials
Archives

Gordon D. Goldstein Collection, 1948-1957

Inventor Name Goldtsein, Gordon D.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Sperry Rand Corporation, Univac Division Records, 1935-1985

Inventor Name Mauchly, John and Eckert, J. Presper

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Oral History of Alan Kotok, Highlights, November 15, 2004

Inventor Name Kotok, Alan Repository Computer History Museum1401 N Shoreline Blvd.Mountain View, CA 94043650-810-1010http://www.computerhistory.org/

MIND database logo for Smithsonian-held archival materials
Archives

Safko International, Inc. Records, 1984-1996

Inventor Name Safko, Lon

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Papers of Abraham Savitzky, 1949–1989

Inventor Name Savitzky, Abraham Repository Chemical Heritage FoundationOthmer Library315 Chestnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19106215-873-8265http://othmerlib.chemheritage.org

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

John V. Atanasoff Papers, 1925-1995

Inventor Name Atanasoff, John V. Repository Iowa State University LibraryAmes, IA. 50011-4120http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/collections/index.html

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Mark D. Weiser Papers, 1969-1999

Inventor Name Weiser, Mark D. Repository Green LibraryStanford University LibrariesStanford, CA 94305-6004650-725-1022http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/

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