This young inventor created a synthetic model eye to help medical students train for optical procedures. With more than two million working parts, the eye is considered the second most complex human organ after the brain. So how can medical students train for treating such a complicated and sensitive part of the body? That’s the…
The Lemelson Foundation is currently seeking proposals from vendors who can provide an ongoing partnership through consultation to guide the organization through its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Action Plan. The scope of work includes managing our DEIJ Action Plan, which encompasses developing a methodology to evaluate our progress and a systemic way to…
Teacher Natalie Mondesir supervises recess at Liberty Elementary School in Midway, GA. In a rural Georgia elementary school, teacher Natalie Mondesir is inspiring hundreds of students to think outside the box. One year at Christmas time, Natalie Mondesir bought a package of candy canes for her students. Like all fourth graders, the children were excited…
Dr. Sylvia Robles founded the “Adopt a Startup” program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to encourage entrepreneurship in students and foster sustainability in local businesses. Through her groundbreaking Adopt a Startup program, Dr. Sylvia Robles is inspiring — and incubating — the next generation of sustainability-focused entrepreneurs. How do you support youth…
The Foundation’s Engineering for One Planet (EOP) Initiative partnered with ECL-USA to present a virtual summit on March 14th, 2023. Sponsored by NCEES and in collaboration with ABET and Olin College of Engineering, the summit, Scanning the Horizon of Engineering Education: The Sustainability Imperative, explored the importance of integrating sustainability into engineering education. MembersMore
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,…
A hands-on, inclusive approach to learning, Invention Education gives students agency and the confidence they need to become problem-solvers. Picture a classroom full of students engaged in their learning. But they don’t have books or computers in front of them. Instead, they have cardboard boxes, rubber bands, and duct tape — or maybe circuit boards…
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…
SXSW EDU is a reflection of the world’s most critical social issues as seen through the lens of education. The Lemelson Foundation and the InventEd Network are proud to sponsor a panel on Invention Education as part of SXSW EDU’s 2023 program. Panelists Dr. Kristin Moon of Portland Public Schools in Oregon, Juan Valentin of…
Each February, National Inventors’ Day is an opportunity to honor and celebrate the contributions inventors make to our world. At The Lemelson Foundation, we believe that inventions from diverse people and places are critical to solving not only today’s problems but also those of the 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…
For Jeanelle Dao and Prisha Shroff, personal experience plus a commitment to improving lives equals a steady drive to make the world a better place. At age 13, Prisha Shroff saw something that made her want to change the world. She was driving with her family from Los Angeles to their home in Chandler, Arizona,…
The Lemelson Foundation (the Foundation) seeks a Program Officer (PO) to join the Invention Education team, which supports efforts to equip primary, secondary, and college students with the invention and problem-solving skills and mindsets needed to build and thrive in an innovation economy. The PO will work with the team’s Senior Program Officer (SPO) to…