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David Gittens in his Ikenga gyroplane
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Ikenga—The Revolutionary Gyroplane

Industrial designer David Gittens turned his dreams into reality by designing an improved gyroplane, an aircraft with a rotor powered by wind. The Gyro 2000 Ikenga 530Z is now part of the National Air and Space Museum's collections.

A young Black man holding a tiny robot on his palm
Beyond Words

Podcast: James McLurkin Explores Robot Communities

In an early Lemelson Center program, a young MIT researcher, James McLurkin, explains how his robots work like a group of ants.

Inventor Hal Walker
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Hal Walker, The Coherent Light of Persistence

Hal Walker's life is a lesson in hard work and conviction. "In my experience," he asserts, "an awareness of how things work helps an individual to master events around him."

A stylized drawing of a compact fluorescent light bulb surrounded by a solid orange circle with a green border
Invention Stories

SmartLevel: The Soul of a New Hand Tool

Hand levels are one of the standard tools in the kits of house builders, plumbers, and many other tradespeople. Until 1990, all levels were bubble-type spirit levels.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman's Unfolding World, Part 1 (of 2)

Chuck Hoberman, artist and engineer, discusses his innovative unfolding structures.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman Inspires the Next Generation, Part 2 (of 2)

Middle school students interview Chuck Hoberman about his innovative unfolding structures.

Photo of Arthur Ganson
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Arthur Ganson, Metaphysics in Motion

Playing with objects and ideas—bringing them together and setting them in motion—is the work of kinetic sculptor and inventor Arthur Ganson.

Rear view of a cyclist traveling downhill on Augspurger’s handcycle
Invention Stories

Mike Augspurger: Handcycle Inventor

Mike Augspurger—a mountain biker and bicycle builder—created an innovative all-terrain handcycle for wheelchair athletes.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Mike Augspurger, Titanium Transformed

Mike Augspurger is an expert cyclist, a skilled machinist, and a designer and builder of bicycles. Augspurger, founder of One-Off Titanium, Inc., is a specialist in custom and unusual titanium frame bicycles, including the first all-terrain handcycle designed for wheelchair athletes.

Photo of Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connelly with a prototype accessible snowboard
Invention Stories

Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connolly: Accessible Snowboard Inventors

While in college, these inventors designed a snowboard that works for people who can't use their legs.

Inventor Krysta Morlan uses her Waterbike in the pool
Invention Stories

Krysta Morlan: Waterbike Inventor

While still in high school, Krysta Morlan invented the Waterbike—a semi-submersible, fin-propelled vehicle powered by the rider’s legs.

Photo of Van Phillips running using his invention, the Flex-Foot
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Artificial Parts: Van Phillips

How a tragic accident led to breakthroughs in prosthetic science.

Art Fry, Inventor of the Post-It
Invention Stories

Art Fry: Post-it® Note Inventor

Art Fry turned a failed experiment into a new way to communicate or organize information.

Close-up of Stephanie Kwolek
Invention Stories

Stephanie Kwolek: Kevlar® Inventor

The ubiquitous fiber that had an unlikely beginning.

Stephanie Kwolek in her lab
Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Stephanie Kwolek and Kevlar®, The Wonder Fiber

A chemist testing new synthetic polymers at DuPont in the 1960s, Stephanie Kwolek discovered a substance that weighs very little but is strong and stiff beyond anyone's imagination. A few years later, her invention—Kevlar®—is used to make bullet-resistant vests and helmets, saving thousands of lives.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Patsy Sherman, Go Ahead—Put Your Feet on the Furniture!

Patsy Sherman was one of the few women chemists to work for a major corporation when she was hired by 3M in 1952. She and her colleauge Sam Smith, as well as 3M, patented Scotchgard®, the popular rain and stain repellent for textiles.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Janese Swanson, Beyond Pink and Fluffy

As the head of Girl Tech, Dr. Janese Swanson develops products and services that encourage girls to use new technologies, such as the Internet. Her mission is to help change society's perceptions of girls and girls' perceptions of themselves.

Beyond Words

Podcast: Ann Moore Keeps Babies "Snugli"

Ann Moore talks about inventing the "Snugli" baby carrier, inspired by the traditional West African practice of carrying babies in fabric slings on their mothers' backs.

Invention Stories

Innovative Lives: Protecting Precious Cargo: Ann Moore

Inspired by the way African mothers carried their babies in fabric slings tied to their backs, former Peace Corps nurse Ann Moore developed the Snugli and Weego soft baby carriers and other kinds of specialized carrying cases.

Invention Stories

Exploring the History of Women Inventors

How likely is it that any American of any age could rattle off the names of five women inventors?

See More Stories

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