Invention Notebook

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  • Invention Roundup: The Next Stage of COVID-19 Inventions

    Invention Roundup: The Next Stage of COVID-19 Inventions

    From Virus-Killing Robots to Improved Telemedicine Inventors continue to pivot and direct their ideas and energy to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-cost, rapid detection of the virus is still an important need. But in the absence of a vaccine, inventors are also looking for different ways to efficiently sanitize surfaces and kill the virus before…

  • Finding and Creating the Next Generation of Inventors

    Finding and Creating the Next Generation of Inventors

    Why the Future of Invention, STEM, and Our Children Depends on Advancing Equity Note: All photos were taken at Oregon MESA events before COVID-19 social distancing was put into effect. This has been a difficult year so far. If 2020 has shown us anything, it is that we as a society desperately need problem solvers.…

  • Why Every STEM Graduate Needs to Be Environmentally Focused

    Why Every STEM Graduate Needs to Be Environmentally Focused

    NOTE: To learn more on this topic, visit the Engineering for One Planet website. The United Nations Environment Program has crowned June 5th World Environment Day. And although the pandemic may have caused many news desks to push aside climate change headlines for the time being, we cannot afford to forget theMore

  • How To Keep Kids Inspired During Quarantine

    How To Keep Kids Inspired During Quarantine

    “STEM-thusiast” Nate Ball Recommends Shifting Gears and Thinking Like an Inventor As pandemic life persists, millions of parents are facing the same daily dilemma: How to keep kids engaged and inspired in a time when so much of the world is off limits. For inventor and father of two Nate Ball, the solution involves equal…

  • 5 Young Inventors Aim to Change the World

    5 Young Inventors Aim to Change the World

    Anyone can be an inventor. There are no restrictions on having a bright idea that can change the world. Note: This article was originally published in the Mechanical Engineering magazine at ASME. Click here to read more of ASME’s content. Hannah Herbst with President Barack Obama in front of her research for Beacon, a water energy-capturing device.…

  • Invention Roundup: Inventors Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic

    Invention Roundup: Inventors Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic

    From Rapid Testing in Low-Resource Countries to Ventilator Splitters In a global pandemic, one size does not always fit all when it comes to protective gear, equipment and diagnostic testing. Take, for example, the varied environmental factors that impact diagnostic testing methodologies. What might work in urban settings such as New York City may not…

  • This College Student Can Convert Your Gas-Guzzler Into a Zero-Carbon Ride

    This College Student Can Convert Your Gas-Guzzler Into a Zero-Carbon Ride

    (Pictured above from left to right: Sean Krivonogoff, Blake Turner, and Mel Turner pose on Blake’s 1963 Chevrolet Corvair) By creating a low-cost hydrogen conversion kit, inventor Blake Turner hopes to make owning an eco-friendly car more affordable. A 1963 Chevrolet Corvair might be stylish, but it doesn’t exactly say environmental sustainability. Unless Portland, Oregon…

  • During a Health Crisis, Look for the Inventors

    During a Health Crisis, Look for the Inventors

    UPDATE: Since this article’s publication, the Highlight product has been named one of the Best Infection Prevention Products by Newsweek. Catastrophe can be a powerful catalyst for invention. It was a deadly pathogen that turned Jason Kang and his friends into inventors. But it’s not the one you’re thinking of. In 2014, Ebola wasMore

  • Inventing a Better Insect Trap

    Inventing a Better Insect Trap

    How One Pennsylvania Teen Found Inspiration in Her Own Backyard How do you quash an insect invasion that threatens your favorite trees? For fourteen-year old Rachel Bergey of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, the answer involves inventing a new product out of garden netting and aluminum foil, and one key strategy: outsmarting the enemy. The spotted lanternfly is…

  • The Case for Invention Education

    The Case for Invention Education

    How Empathy in STEM Can Transform Learning for Students and Teachers UPDATE: In August 2020, Doug Scott was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Picture a group of high school students on a frozen pond in Massachusetts, their eyes trained intently on a moving object. No, it’s not a hockey puck. It’s…

  • Are Robots Really Coming For Our Jobs?

    Are Robots Really Coming For Our Jobs?

    What We’ve Learned From Previous Industrial Revolutions A fourth industrial revolution? According to a loose coalition of economists, techno-enthusiasts, and other analysts, we are in the early stages of a fourth revolutionary moment, during which innovations in technology bring about major changes to the production of goods and services, and significantly impact employment. The first…

  • Going Beyond the Horizon

    Going Beyond the Horizon

    Jim West has been at the forefront of acoustic science for nearly six decades. From his childhood in the segregated South to his recent work on an advanced digital stethoscope, West has always looked for “what exists beyond the horizon.” This article was originally published on USPTO.gov on November 2019. Each month, their Journeys of Innovation…