Independent Inventors Conference
Inductee Dr. Gary Michelson
Invent Now and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted a West coast regional conference at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, CA on August 12-13. Senior USPTO officials, successful inventors, including National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. Gary Michelson, and intellectual property experts provided practical advice and information to over 120 novice and seasoned inventors. Congressman Adam Schiff opened the conference with a well-received speech about the need for continuing innovation and invention in the United States. Teresa Stanek Rea, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO, delivered a keynote address at the luncheon on August 12. The next conference is scheduled for mid-January in Tampa, FL.
Camp Invention Grows 15% in 2011
For 21 years, Invent Now has been bringing fun summer science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities to elementary-aged children across the country. This summer, Camp Invention extended its outreach to serve over 75,000 children in 49 states. The Camp Invention program explores the important relationship between reading, history, the arts, and STEM through hands-on, inquiry-based activities.
In 2011, a concerted effort was made to extend Camp Invention's reach, allowing more children in more locations to benefit from the program. The number of children who were impacted by Camp Invention grew 15% in 2011, and the number of program sites increased by 16%. In addition, Camp Invention continues to impact underserved children through the generous support of our sponsors and school districts that use Title I and Title II funding to support the program.
For more information on supporting Camp Invention 2012, please contact campinvention@invent.org.
Collegiate Inventors Competition Welcomes New Sponsor
Invent Now is pleased to announce a new presenting sponsor to the Collegiate Inventors Competition, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Foundation joins the Abbott Fund and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, both of whom have been sponsors of the Competition for the last five years. As part of this sponsorship, the Collegiate Inventors Competition will be an official featured event of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
“The Kauffman Foundation is a proud sponsor of this year's Collegiate Inventors Competition because it appropriately emphasizes the importance of innovation and discovery and the vital role they play in the health of our economy. By including the Competition this year as a featured event of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we hope to bring a much broader awareness of the need for greater commitments to advancing innovation and commercialization, at home and abroad,” said Thom Ruhe, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation.
Invent Now is grateful for the support of the Kauffman Foundation, as well as the Abbott Fund and the USPTO, for helping us grow the visibility of the Competition.
Inductee Don Keck Visits the
NIHF School
In May, fifth graders at the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) School were visited by Inductee Don Keck, when he met with each class in conjunction with their study of light. Keck was a member of the Corning team, along with Inductees Robert Maurer and Peter Schultz, that invented optical fiber, the basis of today’s long distance communications.
During each class, Keck discussed light and its properties, illustrating his talk with examples and demonstrations. Students were able to participate by measuring angles of refraction of a laser light beam in water. Also, by examining actual strands of optical fiber, they were able to observe first-hand the fiber’s unique light-carrying capability. Keck worked with the students to calculate the speed of light as it pulsed along over a 2,000-meter coiled length of optical fiber and was reflected back again via a mirror positioned at the end. In this way, the students not only learned more about light itself, but also how its properties are used in real world applications and form the basis for all fiber optics communications.
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
Thank you to the following sponsors who have recently confirmed support for Invent Now’s programs:
Abbott Fund
American Intellectual Property Law Association
The Charro Foundation
The Denver Foundation
First Solar Corporate Charitable Foundation of the Toledo Community Foundation
Livingston & Haven
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Killeen Evening Lions Club
Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
The Sisler McFawn Foundation
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
Motorola Solutions Foundation
The Nord Family Foundation
Reid Family Foundation
The Reinberger Foundation
SAP America, Inc.
Xcel Energy Foundation
For a complete list of sponsors please visit our sponsor page
To make an online donation please visit our donate page
Collegiate Inventors Competition Judging Underway
The entries are in and our judges have been poring over them. We received entries from the following colleges and universities:
Arizona State University
Boston University
Carnegie Mellon University
Cedarville University
Chattanooga State Community College
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Doane College
Duke University
Emory University
George Washington University
Germanna Community College
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Lehigh University
Louisiana State University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
State University of New York at Stony Brook
University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Irvine
University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - San Diego
University of California - Santa Barbara
University of Cincinnati
University of Florida
University of Minnesota
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
University of South Florida
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Utah
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Washington University
Wayne State University
Yale University
Invent Now will announce the finalists of the 2011 Competition in September. Be sure to check www.invent.org/collegiate for details on the finalists and the Awards events which will be held the week of November 14 in Washington, DC.
Exercising Ingenuity in
Fitness and Health
A new exhibit will be opening October 14 at the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum in Alexandria, VA. Exercising Ingenuity in Fitness and Health will highlight inventions and patents that have emerged from the fitness, health, and exercise industries. Come see a few of our country’s more unusual artifacts, including:
- President Calvin Coolidge’s 1920s Electric Horse, which he used for exercise while serving in the White House
- Penny Scales, which helped change the way Americans thought about themselves and introduced new concerns about weight and appearance in the 1930s
- An original vibrating chair from the Battle Creek Sanitarium – The Temple of Health – which was founded by National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee John H. Kellogg
In addition, visitors will see exhibits on notable National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees like Benjamin Rubin and his bifurcated needle and Robert W. Gore who invented a weatherproof, breathable material known now by the GORE-TEX® brand name and widely used in fitness and sporting apparel. The exhibit will be free and open to the public through October 2012.
Inductee News
In August, Ted Hoff traveled to Scotland to receive the IEEE/Royal Society of Edinburgh Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award. The award, named in honor of Scottish physicist James Maxwell who laid the foundations of electromagnetic wave theory, radio propagation, microwave techniques, and radio communications, was presented by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Hoff was recognized for his contributions to the world’s first microprocessor, for his work on the LMS algorithm, and also for his work on the telephone codec and digital signal processing.
After receiving the award from Prince Philip, Hoff returned home where a week later, he was again presented with the award at an event in San Francisco. Past recipients of the award, which is funded by Wolfson Electronics, include Inductee Amar Bose.
In Memory
In August, Inductee George Devol (1912-2011) passed away at his home at the age of 99. Devol was recognized earlier this year as a 2011 Inductee for Unimate, the first industrial robot. A self-taught inventor, Devol began his career working in electrical engineering and machine controls. Realizing the value of factory automation, his early work led to the idea of developing a mechanical arm that would be useful in factories for performing repetitive and dangerous tasks. He formed the company Unimation, Inc., and the first Unimate robot was installed at a General Motors plant in New Jersey where it handled hot die-cast pieces for automobiles. Today, industrial robots have transformed factories into safer places and improved products with precision and consistency.
Donate Today!
Please consider making a gift today to support Invent Now! You can designate your gift to support any one of our programs, or contribute to the area of greatest need. 100% of your gift is tax deductible. For every $1.00 donated, $0.84 directly supports the organization's programs.
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