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Blog

Nurse Innovations Crucial to Pandemic Response

During times of crisis, nurses turn to their innate innovative behaviors to derive new solutions for the needs of their patients.

Blog

Disaster Board Games

Board game inventions can help us cope with crises.

Blog

Lupe Hernandez and the Invention of Hand Sanitizer

Sorting out the facts in an oft-told story.

Blog

Remembering Dr. Patricia Bath

Pathbreaker, physician, educator, role model, and inventor of the Laserphaco Probe for the treatment of cataracts.

Encouraging Innovative Thinking

The Legacy of Dr. InBae Yoon

Dr. Yoon passionately believed—like we do—that everyone is inventive.

Blog

O Canada! Inventors from Across the Border

Inspired by visitor stories submitted to our Places of Invention map about Canadian inventors and inventions

Blog

DIY Innovation in the Hospital

Scientists, clinicians, and patients have always been do-it-yourself innovators.

Blog

A Heartfelt Story

The invention of the AED—the automated external defibrillator—saves lives every day.

Places of Invention

Be Still, My Heart: Behind the Scenes in the Cardiac Collections

A group of small archival boxes lay nestled together, each holding a cardiac pacemaker or valve. "It's like being a kid in a candy store," exclaimed inventor Manny Villafaña.

Places of Invention

Invention hot spot: The rise of "Medical Alley" in Minnesota in the 1950s–1970s

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

Spark!Lab

To get inspiration for themes and activities as we develop the new Spark!Lab, the team has been taking "field trips" to different collections areas in the Museum. Here are some highlights from our visits to the Physical Sciences and Medical collections.

Places of Invention

Manny’s Medical Alley

On a recent research trip to Minnesota for "Places of Invention," I had the special opportunity to meet one of the region’s pioneers, Manuel (“Manny”) Villafaña. You may not know his name, but you’ve probably heard of at least one of the seven medical-device companies he has founded in Minneapolis, including Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. (CPI) and St. Jude Medical.

Places of Invention

Doctors Inventing Auto Safety

Lemelson Fellow Less Vinsel shares his research on the role that medical doctors played in improving auto safety.

Invention Stories

Inventing the Future: 3D Printing

What implications might 3D printing hold for the future?

Invention Stories

Football Helmet Technology

As the parent of a high school football player who suffered a minor concussion two years ago and a huge football fan, it’s both reassuring and fascinating to observe the advancements being made in helmet technology.

Invention Stories

Bionic Repair

As I continue to recover from my recent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery, I can’t help but feel a bit like the “Six Million Dollar Man.” I can almost hear the bionic sound effect that was the staple of Lee Major’s TV character, Steve Austin (I’m leaking the proximity of my a

Places of Invention

Much More than a Garage, a Place of Invention

Like more famous garages in Silicon Valley that begat Apple and Hewlett Packard, the former 800-square-foot garage in Minneapolis served as a convenient, no-rent location for Palmer Hermundslie and Earl Bakken to found Medtronic in 1949.

Invention Stories

Akhil Madhani: Literally on the Cutting Edge of Robotics

"Engineers have to invent things, because that's their job, to develop something as a solution to a problem."

Symposia & Conferences

Living with Technology, Inside and Out

Over the last couple of years, the Lemelson Center has been looking at the variety of means invention mediates the interface between human beings and environment.

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."