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…
Or “The Case Against Nonsense” For more than 20 years The Lemelson Foundation has been committed to the power of invention to improve lives. While inventions come in many forms, the Foundation’s work is focused on those that help solve the world’s most complex and systemic problems with true and lasting impact. We call this
On August 21 The Lemelson Foundation joined thousands of organizations in recognizing World Entrepreneurs’ Day, an event designed to raise awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership in our lives. And from November 13–19, we will join 20,000 groups across 170 nations celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week. But this year’s celebrationsMore
A Teacher Motivates Her Student to become a Science Educator When teachers present their students with real-world challenges to solve, they show them that they have the power to improve lives in their community and beyond. For National Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re celebrating teachers who are inspiring their students through invention education. Clara Mabour was…
The best inventions will be those that deliver the most value while consuming the fewest resources. April 22 saw hundreds of thousands assemble in Washington, DC and dozens of other cities nationwide to celebrate Earth Day with a first-ever March for Science. One week later, Americans again took to the streets to mark President Trump’s 100thMore
The professor discusses his early influences, approach to technology, and solving the right problem at the right time. In September 2016, Dr. Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab and holder of more than 75 patents, was awarded the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for his work in developing radical imaging solutions. The WallMore
Too often the tenets of environmental responsibility are absent from the invention process itself. As we commemorate Earth Day each year, we become more cognizant that the Earth itself is a constrained resource. Sustainability is one of the key issues of our time, but when it comes to inventing new products, we often don’t act…
Last year, the United Nations designated January 24 as the first International Day of Education, in part to showcase education’s role in driving inclusion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. At The Lemelson Foundation, we also recognize that education is crucial to producing a vital resource to help us create the future we all want:…
Foundation grantee Gearbox was recently featured by CNN’s Innovate Africa for its efforts to revolutionize hardware-based prototyping East Africa. The article follows Gearbox’s growth from its original innovation lab in Nairobi to new satellite spaces in rural areas of Kenya, as well as the Gearbox International Foundation to encourage the proliferation of shared maker spaces…
By Maggie Flanagan, The Lemelson Foundation Program Officer For Global Entrepreneurship Week, millions of people across 170 countries participated in thousands of online events and in-person gatherings to discuss the state-of-the-state of global entrepreneurship, as well as what’s needed to grow entrepreneurial opportunity in the years ahead. One of the key themes for this year’s…
The Lemelson Foundation has long supported the values of environmental responsibility and sustainability both as an organization and in our grant-making. As an effort to harness the power of invention to address the effects of climate change, we’re proud to be a sponsor of The Global Cooling Prize. Created by the Government of India and…
Middle-school student Rachel Bergey of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, was inspired to invent when climbing a tree near her house. She noticed the damage done by an invasive species of insect and wanted to find a way to save the trees. This started a journey which led to her receiving the Lemelson Award for Invention at the…
A profile of John Madland, Broadcom MASTERS’ 2018 Lemelson Invention Prize Winner Fifteen-year-old John Madland has always had an inventive curiosity. Growing up, he would ask for broken appliances as birthday gifts so that he could fix them. “I rarely give up on an idea,” he says. “Even if it takes several years to, I’ll…