Lemelson-MIT Prize
Encyclopedia
The Lemelson Foundation
awards several prizes yearly to inventors in United States
. The largest is the Lemelson-MIT Prize which was endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson
, and is administered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. The winner receives $500,000, making it the largest cash prize for invention
in the U.S.
From 1995 through 2006, the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award and the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize were also presented along with the Lemelson-MIT prize. In 2007 the Lifetime Achievement award was replaced with the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. In 2007 the Lemelson Foundation also introduced two additional $30,000 student prizes to be awarded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. A student prize for the California Institute of Technology
was added in 2009.
Lemelson Foundation
The Lemelson Foundation is a private 501 philanthropy founded in 1993 by Jerome H. Lemelson and his wife Dorothy.-Origins:Lemelson believed invention and innovation were key to American economic success and dynamism, yet he was also deeply concerned that American businesses and society were...
awards several prizes yearly to inventors in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The largest is the Lemelson-MIT Prize which was endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson
Jerome H. Lemelson
Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson was a prolific American engineer, inventor, and patent holder...
, and is administered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. The winner receives $500,000, making it the largest cash prize for invention
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
in the U.S.
From 1995 through 2006, the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award and the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize were also presented along with the Lemelson-MIT prize. In 2007 the Lifetime Achievement award was replaced with the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. In 2007 the Lemelson Foundation also introduced two additional $30,000 student prizes to be awarded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. A student prize for the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
was added in 2009.
2011
- John A. RogersJohn A. RogersJohn A. Rogers is a physical chemist and materials engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.-Education:Rogers obtained BA and BS degrees in chemistry and in physics from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1989. From MIT, he received SM degrees in physics and in chemistry in 1992...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Elizabeth Hausler (Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability)
- Alice Chen (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
- Scott Diagle (Lemelson-MIT Illinois Student Prize)
- Guoan Zheng (Lemelson-MIT CalTech Student Prize)
2010
- Carolyn Bertozzi (Lemelson-MIT Prize)
- BP Agrawal (Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability)
- Erez Lieberman-Aiden (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
- Javad Rafiee (Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize)
- Jonathan Naber (Lemelson-MIT Illinois Student Prize)
- Heather Agnew (Lemelson-MIT CalTech Student Prize)
2009
- Chad MirkinChad MirkinChad A. Mirkin is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Joel Selanikio (Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability)
- Geoffrey von Maltzahn (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
- Yuehua Yu (Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize)
- John WrightJohn Wright-Arts:* John Buckland Wright , New Zealand illustrator* John C. Wright , science fiction and fantasy writer* John Henry Wright , American classical scholar...
(Lemelson-MIT Illinois Student Prize) - Ophir Vermesh (Lemelson-MIT CalTech Student Prize)
2008
- Joseph DeSimoneJoseph DeSimone (inventor)Joseph M. DeSimone is an American chemical engineer, and the 2008 recipient of the $500,000 Lemelson–MIT Prize.He is the Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, North...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Martin Fisher (Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability)
- Timothy Lu (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
- Martin Schubert (Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize)
- Patrick WalshPatrick WalshPatrick Walsh was an American politician and journalist.Walsh was born in Ballingarry, County Limerick, Ireland. With his parents he emigrated in 1852 to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was apprenticed to a printer...
(Lemelson-MIT Illinois Student Prize)
2007
- Timothy Swager (Lemelson-MIT Prize)
- Lee Lynd (Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability)
- Nathan BallNathan BallNathan "Nate" Barker Ball works as a host on the PBS Kids show Design Squad. Ball has appeared in an episode of Myth Busters, a History Channel special on Batman technology, in an insurance advertisement, and in a FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman season 4 episode.He holds two degrees in mechanical...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize) - Brian Schulkin (Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize)
- Michael CallahanMichael CallahanMichael Callahan is an American soccer player who currently plays for Richmond Kickers in the USL Professional Division.-Youth and Amateur:...
(Lemelson-MIT Illinois Student Prize)
2006
- James FergasonJames FergasonJames L. Fergason was an inventor of an improved Liquid Crystal Display, or LCD.Fergason graduated from Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Missouri...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) for his liquid crystal display innovations. - Sidney PestkaSidney PestkaSidney Pestka is an American biochemist and geneticist. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of interferon" for his groundbreaking work developing the interferons as treatments for major diseases such as hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - Carl Dietrich (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
2005
- Elwood "Woody" Norris (Lemelson-MIT Prize) for his invention of a hypersonic sound system, which allows sound to be focused with laser-like precision.
- Robert DennardRobert DennardRobert Dennard is an American electrical engineer and inventor.Dennard was born in Terrell, Texas, U.S.. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, in 1954 and 1956, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. from Carnegie Institute of...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - David BerryDavid Berry (inventor)David Berry, M.D., PhD., is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is a Partner at Flagship Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA. Berry is founder and CEO of Essentient, a company founded in 2009 to transform global nutrition .-Early life and...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
2004
- Nick HolonyakNick HolonyakNick Holonyak, Jr. invented the first practically useful visible LED in 1962 while working as a consulting scientist at a General Electric Company laboratory in Syracuse, New York and has been called "the father of the light-emitting diode"...
, Jr. (Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Edith M. FlanigenEdith M. FlanigenEdith Marie Flanigen is an American chemist, known for her work on synthesis of emeralds, and later zeolites for molecular sieves at Union Carbide. She was the first female recipient of the Perkin Medal in 1992....
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - Saul GriffithSaul GriffithSaul Griffith is an Australian American inventor. He is best known for his inexpensive technique for making prescription eyeglasses. This method uses two flexible surfaces and a pourable resin.-Early life and education:...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
2003
- Leroy HoodLeroy HoodLeroy Hood is an American biologist. He won the 2011 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize “for automating DNA sequencing that revolutionized biomedicine and forensic science” and the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventing "four instruments that have unlocked much of the mystery of human biology" by...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) for his invention of four devices that have helped unlock the human genome, including the automated DNA sequencer. - William Murphy, Jr (Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award)
- James McLurkinJames McLurkinJames McLurkin is an engineering professor at Rice University specializing in swarm robotics. He appeared on Nova on PBS. In addition, he is a winner of the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize and completed his Ph.D. in computer science in May 2008 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)10-min. video about him on NOVA scienceNOWNOVA scienceNOWNOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
2002
- Dean KamenDean KamenDean L. Kamen is an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire.Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but dropped out before graduating after five years of private advanced research for drug infusion pump AutoSyringe...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) for his invention of the SegwaySegway PTThe Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....
and of an infusion pump for diabetics. - Ruth R. BeneritoRuth R. BeneritoRuth Mary Rogan Benerito is an American scientist and inventor known for her work related to the textile industry, including the development of wash-and-wear cotton. She holds 55 patents.-Personal life:...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - Andrew HeafitzAndrew HeafitzAndrew Heafitz is an American inventor and alumnus of MIT. He was awarded his first patent while a teenager for a camera shutter. He was a the founder of TacShot, a rocket-propelled camera capable of being quickly launched and deployed to photograph an area from overhead. He is currently the VP of...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize) - Kavita Shukla (Lemelson-MIT Invention Apprentice)
2001
- Raymond KurzweilRaymond KurzweilRaymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, inventor and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition , text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize]) - Raymond Damadian (Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for his work in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Brian Hubert (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
- Jordan Sand (Lemelson-MIT Invention Apprentice)
2000
- Thomas FogartyThomas FogartyThomas Fogarty , is a professor of surgery at Stanford University. He is also an inventor of medical devices and a vintner.-Background:...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Al GrossAlfred J. GrossAlfred J. Gross , a.k.a. Irving J. Gross was a pioneer in mobile wireless communication. He created and patented many communications devices, specifically in relation to an early version of the walkie-talkie, Citizens' Band radio, the telephone pager and the cordless telephone...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for his invention of the first walkie-talkie, CB radio, the telephone pager, and the cordless telephone. - Amy SmithAmy B. SmithAmy Smith is an American inventor, educator, and founder of at . She works to develop technologies and build creative capacity internationally.-Early life and education:...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize) - Charles Johnson (Lemelson-MIT Invention Apprentice)
- Michael Lim, Jalal KhanJalal KhanJalal Khan is town and union council of the Bolan District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located at 29°2'0"N 67°44'0"E and has an altitude of 89 metres ....
, and Thomas Murphy (Lemelson-MIT Student Team Prize, one time award)
1999
- Carver MeadCarver MeadCarver Andress Mead is a US computer scientist. He currently holds the position of Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology , having taught there for over 40 years.Mead studied electrical engineering at Caltech, getting...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) - Stephanie KwolekStephanie KwolekStephanie Louise Kwolek is a Polish-American chemist who invented poly-paraphenylene terephtalamide—better known as Kevlar. She was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Kwolek has won numerous awards for her work in polymer chemistry.- Early life and education :Kwolek was...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for her work on liquid-crystalline polymers and the development of the armored fabric KevlarKevlarKevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
. - Daniel DiLorenzoDaniel DiLorenzoDaniel John DiLorenzo is a medical device entrepreneur and physician-scientist. He is the inventor of several technologies for the treatment of neurological disease and is the founder of several companies which are developing technologies to treat epilepsy and other medical diseases and improve the...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize) - Krysta Morlan (Lemelson-MIT Invention Apprentice)
1998
- Robert Langer (Lemelson-MIT Prize)
- Jacob RabinowJacob RabinowJacob Rabinow was an engineer who led a truly prolific career as an inventor. He earned a total of 230 U.S. patents on a variety of mechanical, optical and electrical devices....
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for the first disc-shaped magnetic storage media for computers, the magnetic particle clutch, the first straight-line phonograph, the first self-regulating clock, and a "reading machine" which was the first to use the "best match" principle. - Akhil Madhani (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
1997
- Douglas EngelbartDouglas EngelbartDouglas Carl Engelbart is an American inventor, and an early computer and internet pioneer. He is best known for his work on the challenges of human-computer interaction, resulting in the invention of the computer mouse, and the development of hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to GUIs...
(Lemelson-MIT Prize) for his invention of the computer mouse. - Gertrude Elion (Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for the following inventions:
- 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), the first treatment for leukemia.
- azathioprine (Imuran), the first immuno-suppressive agent, used for organ transplants.
- allopurinol (Zyloprim), for gout.
- pyrimethamine (Daraprim), for malaria.
- trimethoprim (Septra), for meningitis, septicemia, and bacterial infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts.
- acyclovir (Zovirax), for viral herpes.
- Nathan Kane (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
1996
- Stanley Cohen (Co-recipient, Lemelson-MIT Prize) for the development of methods to combine and transplant genes.
- Herbert BoyerHerbert BoyerHerbert W. Boyer is a recipient of the 1990 National Medal of Science, co-recipient of the 1996 Lemelson-MIT Prize, and a co-founder of Genentech. He served as Vice President of Genentech from 1976 through his retirement in 1991....
(Co-recipient, Lemelson-MIT Prize) for the development of methods to combine and transplant genes. - Wilson GreatbatchWilson GreatbatchWilson Greatbatch was an American engineer and inventor whois most widely known as the inventor of the implantable cardiac pacemaker...
(Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) for the development of batteries for the early implantable cardiac pacemakers. - David LevyDavid Levy (inventor)David Levy - inventor with over a dozen patents, he also served as "Inventor in Residence" to Arthur D. Little Consulting. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT...
(Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)
1995
- William Bolander (Lemelson-MIT Prize)
- William HewlettWilliam Reddington HewlettWilliam Redington Hewlett was an engineer and the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company . He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan where is father taught at the Univerisy of Michigan Medical School...
(Co-recipient, Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - David PackardDavid PackardDavid Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969–1971 during the Nixon administration...
(Co-recipient, Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award) - Thomas Massie (Lemelson-MIT Student Prize)