Innovative Lives program

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Inspirational “Innovative Lives”

Celebrating twenty-four years—and counting—of highlighting diverse inventors and innovators in the Lemelson Center’s “Innovative Lives” program series.

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.

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: 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.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Artificial Parts: Van Phillips

How a tragic accident led to breakthroughs in prosthetic science.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Sally Fox, Colorful Cottons

Two strong threads of interest weave through Sally Fox's life as an innovator: a passion for natural fibers and textiles, and an equally passionate commitment to protecting and preserving the environment. It was the coming together of these two interests that led her to develop Fox Fibre®, the first commercially spinnable, naturally colored cotton.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Supercool Scientist–William Phillips

A Nobel Prize winner inspired students to see how cool science can be through his research on supercool atoms.

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.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Janese Swanson, Beyond Pink and Fluffy

As the head of Girl Tech, Dr. Janese Swanson develops products and services that encourage girls to use new technologies, such as the Internet. Her mission is to help change society's perceptions of girls and girls' perceptions of themselves.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Patsy Sherman, Go Ahead—Put Your Feet on the Furniture!

Patsy Sherman was one of the few women chemists to work for a major corporation when she was hired by 3M in 1952. She and her colleauge Sam Smith, as well as 3M, patented Scotchgard®, the popular rain and stain repellent for textiles.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Protecting Precious Cargo: Ann Moore

Inspired by the way African mothers carried their babies in fabric slings tied to their backs, former Peace Corps nurse Ann Moore developed the Snugli and Weego soft baby carriers and other kinds of specialized carrying cases.

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.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: The Heart of the Falcon: Akhil Madhani

MIT graduate Akhil Madhani developed the Silver Falcon, a robotic arm for doing heart surgery.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Windsurfing Wonder Newman Darby

Meet the inventor of the sailboard, also known as a windsurfer. "You can feel the power of the wind and by feeling it, you can control it. It's the simplest form of sailing in the world. And now millions of people can do it."

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.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Making Hearts Beat: Wilson Greatbatch

Meet Wilson Greatbatch, a prolific American inventor who developed the first successful implantable cardiac pacemaker that has saved millions of lives. "Don't fear failure. Don't crave success. The reward is not in the results, but rather in the doing."

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Question Everything and Never Give Up: The Story of Inventor James McLurkin

What turns geeks, dorks, and dweebs—fanatics of the attic and garage—into the movers and shakers of the world?

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Marvelous Masers—Charles Townes

Nobel-Prize winning scientist Charles Townes shared the story of his invention of the maser and his early interests in science with middle-school students during an "Innovative Lives" program.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: UV Waterworks—Ashok Gadgil

Ashok Gadgil invented a portable, low-cost, and efficient water purifier that utilizes ultra-violet light to render viruses and bacteria harmless.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Stephanie Kwolek and Kevlar®, The Wonder Fiber

A chemist testing new synthetic polymers at DuPont in the 1960s, Stephanie Kwolek discovered a substance that weighs very little but is strong and stiff beyond anyone's imagination. A few years later, her invention—Kevlar®—is used to make bullet-resistant vests and helmets, saving thousands of lives.