Induction Ceremony and Gala Dinner
Inductee Yvonne Brill receives her honor from David Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO and Edward Gray, President of the NIHF, Inc. Board of Directors
For the first time in over 20 years, the annual Induction Ceremony took place in Washington, DC, honoring a new group of Inductees on March 31 at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The innovations of the 2010 Inductees spawned industries such as video gaming and recreational underwater diving, and also gave us pharmaceuticals to treat cancer and electric rockets to keep communications satellites in orbit.
All six of this year’s living Inductees were in attendance at the Ceremony hosted by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos. Family members of the Inductees honored posthumously also attended.
A celebratory Gala Dinner was held in the evening at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA. The afternoon ceremony and the evening dinner were both emceed by NPR’s Neal Conan, and those at both events also enjoyed the company of 17 previous Inductees to the Hall of Fame.
The 2010 Inductees are:
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Ralph Baer, Home Video Game System
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Yvonne Brill, Electrothermal Hydrazine Thruster
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Roger Easton, TIMATION Satellite Navigation System
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Art Fry and Spencer Silver, Post-it® Notes
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S. Donald Stookey, Glass Ceramics
The Inductees honored posthumously include:
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M. Judah Folkman, Angiogenesis Inhibition
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Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, Aqualung Diving Equipment
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W. Lincoln Hawkins, Vincent Lanza, and Field Winslow, Polymer Cable Sheath
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Francis Bundy, H. Tracy Hall, Herbert Strong, and Robert Wentorf, Jr., Synthetic Diamond
For more information on the 2010 Inductees, please click here.
Thanks to our Induction Sponsors
Invent Now is honored to have received the support of the following sponsors for the 2010 Induction Ceremony and Gala Dinner. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship packages for the 2011 Induction events, please contact Hannah Paulin at hpaulin@invent.org.
In Partnership with:
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Presenting Sponsor:
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Inductee Sponsors:
3M
Corning Incorporated
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Gala Sponsors:
Covington & Burling LLP
Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards
Palmaz Vineyards
Verizon Foundation
Supporting Sponsors:
Accenture
American Chemical Society
ASRC
The Lisle M. Buckingham Fund of Akron Community Foundation
Continental
Dickstein Shapiro LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett, & Dunner, LLP
Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery
IPO Education Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. Don and Ruth Keck
Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd.
Board of Directors Member Solicitation
Invent Now is looking for individuals who share our passion for engaging and encouraging the next generation of inventors to give back to the community by serving on the Invent Now Board of Directors. Ideal candidates will be committed to offering their time, expertise, and philanthropic skills towards building awareness of Invent Now’s national programs that recognize inventors and invention, promote creativity, and advance the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Now more than ever, there is critical need to support initiatives that promote creativity and innovation in our society. Board members will be engaged in helping students foster their inherent creative talents through participation in hands-on inquiry-based programming, supporting and recognizing the Hall of Fame Inductees as role models and heroes, and working with peers who are equally committed to equipping future generations with the skills needed to be a successful part of an innovative and productive workforce.
If you are interested in serving on the Invent Now Board of Directors, please complete an application (which also list the qualities we are seeking in Board members). The Invent Now Board of Directors Selection Committee is accepting applications for ten director positions for staggered terms beginning in FY 2011. Individuals who want to be considered for these seats should submit their applications by June 30, 2010. Individuals seeking additional information should direct inquiries to hgeorge@invent.org.
Camp Invention Celebrates 20 Years of STEM Initiatives
Camp Invention is celebrating 20 years of bringing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning to children across the nation, impacting more than 65,000 children in 49 states. Building on President Obama’s focus on encouraging programs that help to motivate and encourage children’s STEM learning, new Camp Invention curricula for 2010 include:
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Power’d™, which provides children with an opportunity to make discoveries about electrical power and circuits by tinkering with motors and batteries and introduces renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
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Hatched™, which helps build children’s 21st Century interdisciplinary skills in financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy by introducing the technology concept of virtual worlds and avatars.
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SMArt: Science, Math & Art™, which demonstrates that mathematics is a field that encompasses more than just arithmetic manipulation and explores the beauty of mathematics through tessellations as art, minimal-surface soap bubbles, fractals in nature, mazes as networks, and changing angles.
The Camp Invention program is no ordinary summer camp; it is a program that gives children nationwide the opportunity to learn more about math and science in a fun and supportive environment. Children are immersed in a weeklong experience, where the fun of imaginative play leads them through inquiry-based activities in STEM areas, as well as in history and the arts.
To learn more about Camp Invention and how to turn your child onto science through the program, visit www.campinvention.org or call 800.968.4332.
Thanks to Our Camp Invention and Club Invention Sponsors
Thank you to the following 2010 sponsors who have confirmed major support for the Camp Invention summer and Club Invention afterschool programs:
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Continental
Daniels Fund
The Dow Chemical Company
Dow Corning Foundation
Duke Energy
Ford Motor Company Fund
GAR Foundation
Intel Foundation
The Jochum-Moll Foundation
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
Nordson Corporation Foundation
Time Warner Cable
II-VI Foundation
For a complete list of sponsors please click here.
2010 Invent Now Collegiate Inventors Competition Accepting Entries
We are currently inviting entries to the 2010 Collegiate Inventors Competition. This year, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors the Abbott Fund and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, students in graduate and undergraduate divisions and their advisors will be competing for $80,000 in total cash prizes. All finalists in the Competition will receive a paid trip to the final judging round and awards ceremony in Washington, DC in October 2010. Last year’s winning inventions included a faster way to program cells for genetic engineering, a novel pointing device for quadriplegics, specially designed nanoparticles that point the way for targeted medicines to reach cancerous tumors, and a low-cost arsenic filter for use in Third World countries.
The deadline for entering the 2010 Competition is June 25, 2010. Click here to download the official entry form, read the FAQs, and meet other past winners of the Competition.
National Inventors Hall of Fame School
Fifth graders at the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) School have been working with Inductee Jim West, co-inventor of the electret microphone, through the generous support for the Visiting Inductee Program from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Students were given a problem to solve involving the acoustics in the new NIHF School building, which will open in its permanent home in downtown Akron for the 2010-2011 school year. West visited the students in March, meeting with every student in a small group setting, answering their questions about sound, and challenging them to think of additional ideas. West also addressed the students as a group, speaking about the process of invention and answering many questions from the students about his own life and work. Fifth grade students were thrilled with the opportunity to meet with West, whom they had been studying for several weeks in advance.
During his visit to Akron, West also spoke at a regional STEM conference about the importance of STEM education and of partnerships within the community to encourage STEM education.
Inventive Eats: Incredible Food Innovations
The National Inventors Hall of Fame and the United States Patent and Trademark Office are pleased to announce the creation of a new exhibit for the NIHF Museum in Alexandria, VA. Opening in June 2010, Inventive Eats: Incredible Food Innovations is an exhibit highlighting the historic advances, current trends, and future technologies relating to the food industry. Featured in this exhibit are many of the Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame who have put forth their genius to create innovations that have led the way to make the food we eat more economical, safe, and healthy.
Nominations for Induction 2011
With the recent celebration of Induction 2010, the Hall of Fame is already looking toward 2011 and is currently accepting nominations for the upcoming selection cycle. Nominees must hold a U.S. patent for the invention cited in the nomination. In addition, the nominee’s work must have a history of contributing to the nation’s welfare and must have contributed to the progress of science and useful arts.
Nomination forms are available at www.invent.org, and questions or suggestions may be directed towards nomination@invent.org. The nomination deadline for 2011 nominees is May 31, 2010.
NIHF Grows Washington, DC Presence
Along with the move of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum to the DC metro area, Invent Now is also focusing on increasing visibility and expanding fundraising efforts in the nation’s capital. John Palafoutas, a veteran of non-profit management and government service, joined the organization in January 2010 as the new National Inventors Hall of Fame President. He is headquartered in the Alexandria, VA office, a few blocks from the USPTO, where he is managing outreach to government agencies, foundations, corporations, educational institutions, and other organizations that are involved in the ongoing efforts to promote American innovation.
Inductee News
  
l-r: Sam Blum, Rangaswamy Srinivasan, and James Wynne
In February 2010, Inductees Sam Blum, Rangaswamy Srinivasan, and James Wynne were recipients of the Rank Prize in Optoelectronics, bestowed at the Royal College of Physicians in England. In 2002, the three innovators were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for their work with excimer laser surgery, the same work honored by the Rank Prize. Established by the late Lord Rank in 1973, the prize’s purpose is to advance and promote for the public benefit knowledge, education, and learning in optoelectronics. All three NIHF Inductees traveled to London to receive their prize.
Harry Coover, a 2004 Inductee, was awarded the Medal of Excellence from Hobart College, the highest honor given by the college’s Alumni Association. Coover was recognized at a January ceremony for his extraordinary achievements and contributions over his career, particularly for his discovery of cyanoacrylate monomers, or superglue. In addition to traditional uses associated with superglue, cyanoacrylates have strong adhesive properties, and today, they are widely used in the medical field as human tissue adhesives. Coover spent four decades with Eastman Kodak and lives in Kingsport, TN.
In Memory
Benjamin Rubin (1917-2010), inducted in 2002, invented the bifurcated vaccination needle, a vaccine delivery system that contributed towards the eradication of smallpox. A deadly disease, smallpox killed at least two million people annually until 1967. Although it could be controlled by vaccination, vaccines were often in short supply and difficult to distribute in undeveloped areas. Rubin’s needle allowed for the easy administration of the vaccine, and also made more efficient use of the existing supply of vaccine. Rubin conducted his work with the bifurcated needle while at Wyeth Laboratories. |
