Good afternoon,
The Smithsonian’s Lemelson
Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites you to its 2009 New
Perspectives on Invention and Innovation symposium. This year’s event will be
held on November 6 and 7 at the National Museum of American History and
features an exploration of Hot Spots of Invention.
The Hot Spots of Invention
symposium will advance our appreciation and understanding of “places of
invention” and explore the intimate relationship among the people, places, and
spaces that shape inventors’ work.
Attached is the symposium
announcement, which contains the schedule of events and descriptions of the
sessions and programs.
Registration is requested, but not
required. Should you wish to RSVP, please do so at http://americanhistory.si.edu/rsvp/newperspectives.
Please contact me at [log in to unmask]
or (202) 633-3129 with any questions.
Kindly pass this on to anyone
whom you think may be interested.
Best,
Kate
The Smithsonian Institution’s
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National
Museum of American History
New Perspectives on Invention and
Innovation Annual Symposium
November 6 – 7, 2009
The
Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites
you to its 2009 New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation symposium. Since
1995 this annual symposium has brought together historians, inventors,
practitioners, and a broad range of audiences to explore new avenues of inquiry
into the history of invention and innovation through a mixture of scholarly
presentations, family hands-on activities, educational programs, and
exhibitions.
This
year’s event will be held on November 6 and 7 at the National Museum of
American History and features an exploration of Hot Spots of Invention.
The Museum is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, in
Washington, D.C. All events are free and open to the public. Registration is
requested, but not required. Should you wish to R.S.V.P., please do so
at http://americanhistory.si.edu/rsvp/newperspectives.
Hot
Spots of Invention: People, Places, and Spaces
Whether
it’s Edison’s laboratory or Silicon Valley, both scholars and the public have
long been curious about inventors and the physical spaces and places that seem
to spark invention and innovation. The Hot Spots of Invention symposium
will feature scholars, inventors, and practitioners who will explore the
creation of these centers of creativity and innovation—“hot spots”—from a
variety of perspectives. Sessions on “place” will explore the evolution of
particular innovative regions and explore the factors that lead to their
creation. Sessions devoted to “people” will explore the role and influence of
charismatic, dynamic individuals and their influence upon the region in which
they live and work. “Spaces” refers to the specific locations—basement
workshops to industrial laboratories—that inventors generate and manipulate to
suit their creative needs.
This New
Perspectives symposium will advance our appreciation and understanding of “hot
spots of invention” and explore the intimate relationship among the people,
places, and spaces that shape inventors’ work.
Keynote
Address: Friday, November 6; 7:45 p.m.; Carmichael Auditorium
Tracing
the Origins of GPS
The
Hot Spot of Invention symposium opens with a keynote address by Dr.
Bradford Parkinson, co-winner of the 2003 Draper Prize for the concept and development
of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Parkinson will highlight the number one
innovation that enabled GPS as well as the five major barriers to original
success. He will offer general conclusions on sources of invention and
innovation based on the GPS experience.
Symposium:
Saturday, November 7; Carmichael Auditorium
Opening
Remarks; 9:30 a.m.
Dr.
Arthur Molella, Director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and
Innovation.
Places;
9:45 a.m.
“Medical
Alley”: The Rise of the Minnesota Medical Device Industry
Dr.
David Rhees, Executive Director of the Bakken Museum, analyzes the factors that
led to the establishment and growth of a still-thriving cluster of medical
device firms in Minnesota known as “Medical Alley,” with special attention paid
to the role of Medtronic as the seedbed of numerous other major medical
technology companies.
Hollywood:
A Place for Dreams
Dr.
Katherine Ott, Curator of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American
History (NMAH); Dwight Bowers, Curator of Music, Sports, and Entertainment,
NMAH; and Ryan Lintelman, Project Assistant in Information Technologies and
Communications, NMAH, discuss enduring innovations prompted by the Hollywood
movie industry. This talk will focus on the technology behind Hollywood cinema,
Max Factor make-up, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz as
an American icon.
People; 11:30 a.m.
Robert
Noyce and Silicon Valley Innovation
Dr.
Leslie Berlin, Project Historian for the Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University,
addresses the innovative role of Robert Noyce, co-inventor of the microchip and
co-founder of Intel and Fairchild Semiconductor, in the growth of Silicon
Valley.
The
Role of Place in Thomas Edison’s Inventive Career
Dr. Paul
Israel, Director and General Editor for the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers
University, discusses Edison’s early career and the range of places in which he
worked. These
early
experiences directly influenced Edison’s most important work at the Menlo Park
and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories which drew on and embodied aspects of
these earlier places in his career.
Spaces;
1:45 p.m.
The
Architecture of Healing: Re-envisioning Medical Innovation at Johns Hopkins,
NIH, and Stony Brook
Dr.
Stuart W. Leslie, Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Johns
Hopkins University, looks at three attempts to redesign spaces of medical
education and clinical practice to enhance translational medicine—taking basic
biomedical research from the laboratory to the bedside. The session focuses on
the Stony Brook Health Sciences Center, the National Institute of Health’s
Clinical Center, and the Armstrong Building at the Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine.
The Power
of the Power Plant of Place: How Renovation Led to Innovation
Dr.
Bryan Willson, inventor and Director of the Engines and Energy Conservation
Laboratory at Colorado State University, discusses how an abandoned power plant
grew into an internationally-known energy solutions organization. The session
focuses on the building's structural features, its history and rebirth, and the
unique cultural elements that have allowed the building to play such a crucial
role in inspiring innovation on a global scale.
Synthesis
and Conclusions; 3:15 p.m.
Dr.
David Hounshell, David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change at
Carnegie Mellon University, offers his synthesis and conclusions on the
symposium’s themes.
Family
Programs: Saturday, November 7
Innovative
Lives: Remo Belli with Ken Kimery
4 p.m.; Carmichael Auditorium
What do
The Beatles, DuPont, and Mickey Rooney have in common? Mr. Remo Belli.
Considered by many as the “father of the modern drumhead,” Belli revolutionized
the music products industry by perfecting the first practical synthetic
drumhead, “WeatherKing.” In this moderated conversation Belli will discuss his
experiences as a musician in 1940s Los Angeles and how his community of fellow
musicians in Los Angeles led to his innovations and inventions in the making of
percussion instruments. This conversation will be hosted by Ken Kimery,
Executive Producer of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and a
question and answer session will follow.
Drum
Circle with Remo Belli
5 p.m.; Flag Hall
Percussionist
and inventor Remo Belli will invite visitors to join a drum circle. In the
words of Arthur Hull, “The Community Drum Circle is a fun entry-level learning
experience that is accessible to anyone who wants to participate. Drum Circle
participants express themselves collectively by using a chorus of tuned drums,
percussion, and vocals to create a musical song together while having a great
time.”
Spark!Lab:
Make Your Own Drum!
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; First Floor, West Wing
Visitors
to Spark!Lab will be able to construct their own drum out of recyclable
materials and join in facilitated mini drum circles at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and
2:30 p.m.
Hot
Spots of Invention: Showcase Exhibition; Opens Nov. 6; First Floor, West Wing
Invention
happens everywhere. But sometimes a “hot spot of invention” takes shape when
the right mix of creative people, resources, and inspiring surroundings come
together. In the 1930s, a hot spot began to form among the industrial labs and
universities of New England. As World War II neared, the hot spot matured at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The “Hot Spots of Invention”
showcase exhibit highlights how three war-era labs at MIT helped transform
Cambridge into a dynamic place of invention.
The Lemelson Center presents this small exhibit as a prototype of its larger
“Places of Invention” exhibition, now in the planning stages for the Lemelson
Hall of Invention. “Hot Spots of Invention” will be on view through Summer
2011.
The
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
The
Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center is dedicated to exploring invention in history
and encouraging inventive creativity in young people. The Center is supported
by The Lemelson Foundation, a private philanthropy established by one of the
country’s most prolific inventors, Jerome Lemelson, and his family. The
Lemelson Center is located in the National Museum of American History at 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. For more information,
visit invention.smithsonian.org.
For
more information, contact [log in to unmask]
Portions of the symposium will be available for
viewing on http://americanhistory.si.edu/webcast by Friday, Nov. 20.
The Lemelson Center gratefully acknowledges the Lemelson
Foundation and the Draper Laboratory for their generous support of this year’s
New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation symposium.
-------------------
Kate
Wiley
Public
Affairs Assistant
Office
of Public Affairs and
Lemelson
Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
The
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington,
DC 20013-0623
P:
(202) 633-3129
F:
(202) 633-8053
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