lemelson-mit

Edison tops Jobs as world's greatest innovator

A group of 1,000 young people consider the world's greatest innovator to be Thomas Edison, whose crowning left the late Steve Jobs in second place.

Edison, the creator of the light bulb and phonograph, among many other inventions, earned the top title among 52 percent of those polled by Lemelson-MIT, a program that tries to honor inventors who have improved our lives and gauge peoples' perceptions about innovation.

Often lauded for his spirit of creativity, especially following his death, Jobs took second place with 24 percent citing him as the greatest innovator of all time.

The results surprised … Read more

Biochemist wins $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize

The 2010 Lemelson-MIT Prize has gone to a pioneer in something most Americans have likely never heard of but that might one day save their lives: glycobiology.

Carolyn Bertozzi, the T.Z. and Irmgard Chu Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley, has won the prestigious $500,000 award. Her biotechnology breakthroughs have applications in new types of anticancer drugs and in imaging nanotechnology used for detection and diagnosis of cancer cells, the Lemelson-MIT Program announced Wednesday.

Glycobiology is roughly the study of glycans, also known as complex … Read more

Rainmaker wins $100,000 Lemelson-MIT award

BP Agrawal, founder of Sustainable Innovations, has won the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability.

The award goes to an individual's overall achievement in improving the lives of others through science or engineering innovation, not for one particular invention.

Agrawal has achievements in several areas. He started out in the corporate world working for big names like Hughes, ITT, GTE, General Dynamics, and Vecna Technologies bringing patented technologies to market. During his corporate stint, he patented a single-bit voice-processing technology that enabled voice over satellite, and a "self-healing" modem. He was also the associate editor of IEEE … Read more

Lemelson-MIT prize goes to man of many talents

This year's Lemelson-MIT Student Prize has gone to a man who has his intellectual fingers in the pots of biotechnology, genetics, sensor technology, applied mathematics, and even evolutionary linguistics.

Erez Lieberman-Aiden, graduate student at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, has been awarded the 2010 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. His body of work to date includes inventing a 3D mapping tool and using it to discover new info about the inner workings of the human genome, developing a sensor-laden sneaker to assist the elderly, and co-developing a mathematical method for tracking widespread and complex evolutionary changes in things … Read more

Inventor of inexpensive water pump wins Lemelson award

The SuperMoneyMaker Pump sounds like something that Billy Mays might offer on cable TV, but it's an agricultural tool that's encouraging economic sustainability in Africa.

The device, which won Martin Fisher the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT award for sustainability, can pull water 30 feet below, in a well, and then push it through a pipe to irrigate two acres of land.

The idea is to allow farmers to grow crops continuously throughout the year, rather than concentrate on a single, seasonal crop. Potentially, the pump enables land to be used more efficiently and lets farmers grow more food.

The … Read more