Faces of Invention

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  • Escaping the Ordinary in the Classroom

    Escaping the Ordinary in the Classroom

    Grant Kightlinger and Molly Grace, co-creators of the “FairPlay Challenge.” This innovative education curriculum uses an escape room model to engage students in important life lessons. Many of us have had that experience in school of feeling trapped in a boring lesson about a topic that didn’t seem to have any relevance to our lives.…

  • Transforming the Game with Invention

    Transforming the Game with Invention

    Shawn Springs, CEO of Windpact. This former athlete turned entrepreneur and inventor is creating new sports technology to improve player safety. Who can be an inventor? A dynamic new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is posing that question through a unique lens, andMore

  • Recharging the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Recharging the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Siblings Steven (left) and Zora Chung (right) co-founded technology company ReJoule. This sustainable startup is building a circular economy for EV batteries from the ground up How do you make a critically important sustainable industry even more sustainable? For electric vehicles, one of the challenges is the sustainable source itself — the lithium-ion battery. Although…

  • Achieving that Lightbulb Moment

    Achieving that Lightbulb Moment

    How two high school inventors created a flashlight to help light the way for their community’s first responders

  • Celebrating Black Inventors and Innovators

    Celebrating Black Inventors and Innovators

    From sustainability to health to entertainment, these inventors are pushing boundaries and improving lives and livelihoods

  • 2024 Inventors’ Day Roundup: Inventing for Sustainability

    2024 Inventors’ Day Roundup: Inventing for Sustainability

    The challenges to our environment and to the health of our ecosystems are many. This National Inventors’ Day, we’re showcasing the inventors and entrepreneurs — both young and established — who are devising novel and sustainable solutions to the problems they see in the world.From repurposing plastic waste to helping mitigate the dangers brought on…

  • From Waste to Wattage

    From Waste to Wattage

    This student inventor uses an innovative renewable energy source to help monitor natural disasters.

  • Celebrating Hispanic Inventors, Educators, and Trailblazers

    Celebrating Hispanic Inventors, Educators, and Trailblazers

    Working in classrooms, laboratories, hospitals, and even outer space, these innovators have pushed the boundaries to improve lives for people everywhere.

  • This High-Schooler is Harnessing Chemistry to Combat Pollution

    This High-Schooler is Harnessing Chemistry to Combat Pollution

    An award-winning student inventor, Tarun Batchu has discovered an eco-friendly way to convert plastics into fuel.

  • Smashing Ceilings and Building Solutions: 14 Trailblazing Women Inventors

    Smashing Ceilings and Building Solutions: 14 Trailblazing Women Inventors

    In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting women whose ideas and inventions are aimed at improving lives and solving global problems. “I was always trying to figure out the magic that made things tick.” That’s how Jeanelle Dao, an eighth grader from San Jose, California, describes her earliest childhood inclinations toward invention. Last year,…

  • From Past to Present: 12 Black Inventors and Innovators to Know

    From Past to Present: 12 Black Inventors and Innovators to Know

    Throughout history, innovators from diverse backgrounds have helped change the world and improve lives. To celebrate Black History Month, we’re highlighting 12 past and present Black inventors whose impact ranges from medicine to voting accessibility. In February, we commemorate Black History Month and celebrate National Inventors’ Day — an opportunity to showcase both pioneering Black…

  • 2023 Inventor’s Day Roundup: Inventing for a Better Future

    2023 Inventor’s Day Roundup: Inventing for a Better Future

    These innovators are changing the face of invention — and working to change the world. A hundred years ago this year, Jerry Lemelson was born into a world that was being transformed by the power of invention. He himself became a prolific and versatile inventor, with more than 600 patents across a wide range of…

  • How an After-School Invention Program Helped Launch a Career in Big Tech

    How an After-School Invention Program Helped Launch a Career in Big Tech

    Through Oregon MESA, engineer Thien Nguyen discovered his facility for numbers and a supportive community.  Thien Nguyen was born in Vietnam and lived there until fourth grade, when his family immigrated to the United States. At the time Thien spoke no English, yet as he adjusted to his new surroundings in Portland, Oregon, he quickly…