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…
New Engineering for One Planet (EOP) Initiative draws hundreds of stakeholders from academia, industry, philanthropy, government and nonprofit sectors Portland, OR – The Lemelson Foundation, the world’s leading foundation focused on improving lives through invention, announced the launch of the new Engineering for One Planet (EOP) initiative intended to instill social and environmental principles across…
From a family of Vietnamese refugees and the only girl in her college physics program, Kayla Nguyen has overcome her share of obstacles. Now she’s working to encourage other women and girls interested in science. “Inventions and physics are all around us,” says Kayla Nguyen. Now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,…
From a family of Vietnamese refugees and the only girl in her college physics program, Kayla Nguyen has overcome her share of obstacles. Now she’s working to encourage other women and girls interested in science. What do skateboards, surfing, and the astronaut Sally Ride have in common? For postdoctoral researcher Kayla Nguyen, they all played…
Lessons on How to Build a More Inclusive Ecosystem Note: All photos were taken before COVID-19 social distancing was put into effect. We are living in unprecedented times. Challenges are stacking up around us, from new emergencies like COVID-19 to existing issues like climate change. We are already seeing dramatic repercussions for our economy, our…
Global challenges are stacking up around us, from new emergencies like COVID-19 to existing issues like climate change. We are already seeing dramatic repercussions for our economy, our lives and our livelihoods. In the latest article in Invention Notebook, Foundation Executive Director Carol Dahl examines the role that invention and inventors can play to help…
Systemic racism is at the heart of the series of events that led to the murders of innocent Black Americans such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. Not only is systemic anti-Black racism pervasive in policing, but it also manifests in decades of housing discrimination, mass incarceration, unequal opportunities…
How our social enterprise providing life-saving medical oxygen responded to the pandemic, and showed the market opportunity for other inventors and entrepreneurs UPDATE: Since this article’s publication, Hewatele was awarded the inaugural Rotman Innovation of the Year Award by Grand Challenges Canada as one of its supported initiatives with the largest sustainable increase in lives saved orMore
Key Tips and Insights into Funding Sources during COVID-19 Note: An earlier version of this article was originally published on VentureWell’s Inside Impact blog. In the best of times, securing funding for a venture as a student entrepreneur can be tricky work. As the startup industry braces for the impacts of the COVID-19More
From Virus-Killing Robots to Improved Telemedicine Inventors continue to pivot and direct their ideas and energy to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-cost, rapid detection of the virus is still an important need. But in the absence of a vaccine, inventors are also looking for different ways to efficiently sanitize surfaces and kill the virus before…
Why the Future of Invention, STEM, and Our Children Depends on Advancing Equity Note: All photos were taken at Oregon MESA events before COVID-19 social distancing was put into effect. This has been a difficult year so far. If 2020 has shown us anything, it is that we as a society desperately need problem solvers.…
NOTE: To learn more on this topic, visit the Engineering for One Planet website. The United Nations Environment Program has crowned June 5th World Environment Day. And although the pandemic may have caused many news desks to push aside climate change headlines for the time being, we cannot afford to forget theMore
Online learning program combines lab simulations and mentoring experiences focused on biotechnology and neurological diseases. Cambridge, Mass., May 28, 2020 – Today the Lemelson-MIT Program (LMIT) announced the launch of Biogen-MIT Biotech in Action: Virtual Summer Lab — a new online learning lab for high school students underrepresented in STEM. The collaboration pairs Biogen’s established…