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How To Keep Kids Inspired During Quarantine
“STEM-thusiast” Nate Ball Recommends Shifting Gears and Thinking Like an Inventor As pandemic life persists, millions of parents are facing the same daily dilemma: How to keep kids engaged and inspired in a time when so much of the world is off limits. For inventor and father of two Nate Ball, the solution involves equal…
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5 Young Inventors Aim to Change the World
Anyone can be an inventor. There are no restrictions on having a bright idea that can change the world. Note: This article was originally published in the Mechanical Engineering magazine at ASME. Click here to read more of ASME’s content. Hannah Herbst with President Barack Obama in front of her research for Beacon, a water energy-capturing device.…
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Invention Roundup: Inventors Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic
From Rapid Testing in Low-Resource Countries to Ventilator Splitters In a global pandemic, one size does not always fit all when it comes to protective gear, equipment and diagnostic testing. Take, for example, the varied environmental factors that impact diagnostic testing methodologies. What might work in urban settings such as New York City may not…
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This College Student Can Convert Your Gas-Guzzler Into a Zero-Carbon Ride
(Pictured above from left to right: Sean Krivonogoff, Blake Turner, and Mel Turner pose on Blake’s 1963 Chevrolet Corvair) By creating a low-cost hydrogen conversion kit, inventor Blake Turner hopes to make owning an eco-friendly car more affordable. A 1963 Chevrolet Corvair might be stylish, but it doesn’t exactly say environmental sustainability. Unless Portland, Oregon…
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During a Health Crisis, Look for the Inventors
UPDATE: Since this article’s publication, the Highlight product has been named one of the Best Infection Prevention Products by Newsweek. Catastrophe can be a powerful catalyst for invention. It was a deadly pathogen that turned Jason Kang and his friends into inventors. But it’s not the one you’re thinking of. In 2014, Ebola wasMore
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Inventing a Better Insect Trap
How One Pennsylvania Teen Found Inspiration in Her Own Backyard How do you quash an insect invasion that threatens your favorite trees? For fourteen-year old Rachel Bergey of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, the answer involves inventing a new product out of garden netting and aluminum foil, and one key strategy: outsmarting the enemy. The spotted lanternfly is…
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The Case for Invention Education
How Empathy in STEM Can Transform Learning for Students and Teachers UPDATE: In August 2020, Doug Scott was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Picture a group of high school students on a frozen pond in Massachusetts, their eyes trained intently on a moving object. No, it’s not a hockey puck. It’s…
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Are Robots Really Coming For Our Jobs?
What We’ve Learned From Previous Industrial Revolutions A fourth industrial revolution? According to a loose coalition of economists, techno-enthusiasts, and other analysts, we are in the early stages of a fourth revolutionary moment, during which innovations in technology bring about major changes to the production of goods and services, and significantly impact employment. The first…
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Going Beyond the Horizon
Jim West has been at the forefront of acoustic science for nearly six decades. From his childhood in the segregated South to his recent work on an advanced digital stethoscope, West has always looked for “what exists beyond the horizon.” This article was originally published on USPTO.gov on November 2019. Each month, their Journeys of Innovation…