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Blog

Human Computation Pioneer Luis von Ahn

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

Blog

The Mother of All Demos

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

Blog

Susan Kare, Iconic Designer

Susan Kare designed the distinctive icons, typefaces, and other graphic elements that gave the Apple Macintosh its characteristic—and widely emulated—look and feel.

Blog

AI and the Challenge of Cybersecurity

Not all innovations seek to benefit society . . .

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.

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."

Lemelson Center Books

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age reveals the vibrant, complex, and intriguing woman whose career paralleled the rise of the postwar computer industry. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

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.

Places of Invention

Revolutionary Invention: Hip-Hop and the PC

What do hip-hop music and personal computers have in common? They were both children of the turbulent 1970s, born to innovative people who, building on inventive skills and technologies, nurtured them through creativity, collaboration, risk taking, problem solving, flexibility, and hard work.

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.

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.

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.

Lemelson Center Books

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

Internet Alley 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. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Beyond Words