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Scholars and students, join us in studying our passion: invention! Apply for a fellowship, travel grant, or internship. Explore our collections. Consult our research reports and best practices for documenting and collecting inventors’ materials. And check out our Lemelson Center/MIT Press book series.

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Montage of book covers published in the Lemelson Center Studies series
Lemelson Center Books

Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation

Books in the interdisciplinary Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series explore the history of invention and innovation and the work of inventors and the technologies they create.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Sohmer & Co. Records, 1872-1989

Inventor Name Sohmer & Company

Archival intern Elizabeth Garber
Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Archival Internship

Lemelson Center Archival Interns work on invention-related collections at the National Museum of American History Archives Center.

Sheet music cover art depicting 4 cartoon-like robots marching in step
Symposia & Conferences

Robotics and AI: New Perspectives

A webinar series exploring our relationship with robots and artificial intelligence.

Images of a letter from the archives center.
Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Awards

The Lemelson Center offers support in the form of short-term travel awards for researchers to come to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and use the Archives Center's 20,000 feet of archival materials.

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Story Tags

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Fellow Rachel Gross presents her research during a museum colloquium
Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Fellowship Program

The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program supports projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society.

Headshot of Arthur Molella
Research Opportunities

Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship

The Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship is endowed by The Lemelson Foundation and supports the work of senior scholars in recognition of Dr. Arthur P. Molella, founding director emeritus of the Lemelson Center.

Orange and purple lightbulb logo for the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Lemelson Center Research

2021 Lemelson Center Activities Report

In 2021, the Lemelson Center focused on updating and producing digital resources and events.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Nathaniel Marsh Edwards Papers, 1862-1907

Inventor Name Edwards, Nathaniel Marsh

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Hughes Electronics Corporation Records, 1935–2021 (bulk 1984–2003)

Inventor Name Hughes Electronics Corporation

Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Fellows 1996–Present

Meet our current and past Lemelson Center Fellows and read about their research projects.

Passport-style photo of Baekeland wearing a hat
Symposia & Conferences

Immigration and Innovation: New Perspectives

A three-day webinar series exploring the history, impact, and contemporary experiences of foreign-born inventors in the United States.

Cover of American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D
Lemelson Center Books

American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D

How America's individual inventors persisted alongside corporate R&D labs as an important source of inventions. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Collage of images of Black inventors, including Madam CJ Walker
Symposia & Conferences

Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives

The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation webinar series drew renewed attention to historic and contemporary inventors of color and Black technology consumers, while discussing strategies for building a more equitable innovation ecosystem.

Lemelson Center 25 Years logo with light bulb
Lemelson Center Research

2020 Lemelson Center Activities Report

In 2020, the Center pivoted much of its work to the digital realm to serve our audiences.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. Telegraphy Collection

Inventor Name Materials on the history of telegraphy Repository Case Western Reserve UniversityKelvin Smith Library Special Collections10900 Euclid AvenueCleveland, OH 44106-7151216-368-0189kslspecialcollections@case.edu

Lemelson Center logo featuring a drawing of a light bulb
Lemelson Center Research

2019 Lemelson Center Activities Report

In 2019, the Lemelson Center continued to change the way people think about the role of invention in their lives.

Lemelson Lightbulb Graphic Identity
Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Awards Recipients, 1999–Present

Meet past Travel to Collections Award recipients and read about their research projects based on invention collections in the Museum's Archives Center.

Beyond Bakelite book cover
Lemelson Center Books

Beyond Bakelite: Leo Baekeland and the Business of Science and Invention

The changing relationships between science and industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, illustrated by the career of the “father of plastics.” Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Records

Inventor Name Dolby, Ray Repository Corporate ArchivistDolby Laboratories, Inc.Corporate Archives1275 Market StreetSan Francisco, CA 94131415-558-0268

See More Stories

VIEW 2734 Matching Results

Found 2734 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1938551572787%)
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  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.3650329188003%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.9619604974396%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.4016093635699%)
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