Meet Hall of Fame Legends at NIHF Museum

Located at the headquarters of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia, the National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Museum is a hub for innovation and inspiration. Just outside the museum doors, in the USPTO atrium, visitors can explore a magnificent new exhibit: Hall of Fame Legends.

This exhibit highlights the inspiring stories of four innovative National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees who have made groundbreaking contributions to science, technology and our everyday lives. These Inductees include Frances Arnold, who pioneered the directed evolution of enzymes; Garrett Brown, inventor of the Steadicam^® camera stabilizer; Art Fry, co-inventor of Post-it^® Notes; and James West, co-inventor of the electret microphone.

Frances Arnold

In the early 1990s, scientist Frances Arnold knew her research would solve real problems. Driven by a sense of adventure and curiosity, she invented the method of directed evolution for designing enzymes. This method is a way of using the principles of evolution and natural selection in the laboratory to develop new enzymes with specific functions. She credits her discoveries to “the work of 4 billion years of evolution.”

Used in hundreds of academic and industrial labs around the world, Arnold’s methods have opened new possibilities for using enzymes in a wide range of fields, including energy, medicine, industry and environmental protection. For example, enzymes developed through her research are used in laundry detergents to help break down tough stains, in biofuels that reduce vehicles’ environmental impact, and in the development of medicines for diabetes and new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Arnold received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018, and today, she continues to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers with her innovative approach and dedication to sustainability.

Garrett Brown

With his invention of the Steadicam^®, Garrett Brown has had a profound influence on the entertainment industry, most notably in filmmaking. Brown’s interest in camera stabilizing techniques came at a time when he was working as a copywriter and doing radio ads. He borrowed a camera from a friend and began spending hours at the Philadelphia Public Library reading about the technical side of moviemaking. After co-founding the Moving and Talking Picture Co. in the early 1970s, he became frustrated with the bulkiness of camera gear and the lack of smooth, moving shots.

His goal was to find a more flexible and portable solution to address the limitations of existing systems. Brown studied human movement and applied this understanding to develop a camera stabilization system that could smoothly absorb the motions of the camera operator while walking or running, allowing cinematographers to capture smooth and stable footage.

Brown has worked on almost 100 films, and his Oscar-winning Steadicam has helped create iconic shots, from the training scenes in “Rocky” to the nightclub scene in “Goodfellas” and the tension-building scenes filmed through long corridors in “The Shining.” Among his other inventions are the Emmy-winning Skycam that flies on wires above sporting events and the MobyCam that tracks swimmers underwater. Brown also led the development of Zeen^®, a new, innovative mobility device.

Art Fry

While working as a product development specialist and a corporate scientist at 3M, Art Fry met his co-inventor and fellow Inductee Spencer Silver. As Fry sang in his church choir, he needed a practical way to mark the pages in his hymnal without damaging it, and to make it happen, he found a way to use adhesive microspheres Silver had developed at 3M. Silver’s pressure-sensitive adhesive had turned out to be weaker than he had originally intended, which meant it was removable and could be reapplied without causing damage. Fry applied the unique adhesive to small pieces of paper, creating reusable notes that would lead to the first Post-It Notes.

Fry was persistent in convincing 3M to turn this new idea into a marketable product, and his persistence paid off as Post-it Notes became available to the public in 1977. One of the bestselling office products in the U.S., Post-it Notes have become an essential tool in offices, schools and homes around the world.

Fry continues to take on intriguing challenges and develop practical solutions by modifying materials and applying them in new ways.

James West

In 1962, Jim West and his co-inventor and fellow Inductee Gerhard Sessler patented the electret microphone and revolutionized the sound industry. Compact and inexpensive, yet extremely sensitive, electret microphones convert sound waves to electrical signals with high fidelity. West’s passion for music inspired his invention, and he describes combining chords and rhythm into a scientific process. His family has referred to him as the “Jimi Hendrix of the scientific world.”

Today, 90% of the 2 billion microphones manufactured each year are electret microphones. They are used in laptops, headsets, smartphones, toys, baby monitors and recording devices. Not only have these microphones improved the quality of live performances and influenced studio recording techniques, but they also have enabled hearing aids that offer better sound quality and are more discreet, efficient and effective. West’s work continues to improve our daily lives through advanced sound technology, and he remains dedicated to ensuring everyone can access STEM education and unlock their creative potential.

Discover More World-Changing Inductees

Plan your visit to the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum at invent.org and keep exploring our blog for more inspiring inventor stories.

Photo credit: Jay Premack/USPTO