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To Empower Impact Entrepreneurs to Solve the World’s Problems, First Support the Incubators
In its early days, the Covid-19 pandemic brought most activities to a grinding halt. But there’s one activity that it absolutely ignited: medical innovation. Imagine microbrewers in North Carolina jumping lanes to make hand sanitizer instead of beer, or a 3-D printing startup in Kenya using its machines to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE), or…
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Helping Inventors Get “Unstuck”
Engineer and entrepreneur Sorin Grama focuses on sustainability and innovation in his work. Read more about Grama’s path to entrepreneurship here. At The Lemelson Foundation, we believe that inventors and inventions are critical to making the world a better place. Our grantees and partners are supporting the creation of innovative products that address some of our…
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Building Trust and Confidence Through Invention Education
Teacher Natalie Mondesir supervises recess at Liberty Elementary School in Midway, GA. In a rural Georgia elementary school, teacher Natalie Mondesir is inspiring hundreds of students to think outside the box. One year at Christmas time, Natalie Mondesir bought a package of candy canes for her students. Like all fourth graders, the children were excited…
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Empowering Underrepresented Students to Become Entrepreneurs
Dr. Sylvia Robles founded the “Adopt a Startup” program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to encourage entrepreneurship in students and foster sustainability in local businesses. Through her groundbreaking Adopt a Startup program, Dr. Sylvia Robles is inspiring — and incubating — the next generation of sustainability-focused entrepreneurs. How do you support youth…
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Why Invention Education Will Lead to a Future Full of Innovators
A hands-on, inclusive approach to learning, Invention Education gives students agency and the confidence they need to become problem-solvers. Picture a classroom full of students engaged in their learning. But they don’t have books or computers in front of them. Instead, they have cardboard boxes, rubber bands, and duct tape — or maybe circuit boards…
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2023 Inventor’s Day Roundup: Inventing for a Better Future
These innovators are changing the face of invention — and working to change the world. A hundred years ago this year, Jerry Lemelson was born into a world that was being transformed by the power of invention. He himself became a prolific and versatile inventor, with more than 600 patents across a wide range of…
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These Teens Plan To Change The World Through Invention
For Jeanelle Dao and Prisha Shroff, personal experience plus a commitment to improving lives equals a steady drive to make the world a better place. At age 13, Prisha Shroff saw something that made her want to change the world. She was driving with her family from Los Angeles to their home in Chandler, Arizona,…
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How to Integrate Sustainability Into College Engineering Curricula
A pilot program across five U.S.-based higher education institutions is shedding light on successful steps toward systems change. Engineering is one of the most fundamental contributors to human health and prosperity. From consumer goods to hardware and software products to buildings and modes of transportation, the solutions that engineers create are core to nearly every…
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From STEM to Spotify: How an After-School Invention Program Helped Launch a Career in Big Tech
After moving from Vietnam to the U.S. in fourth grade, Spotify engineer Thien Nguyen discovered his love for math, as well as a supportive community, through his new school’s MESA program. Engineer Thien Nguyen discovered his facility for numbers and a supportive community through Invention Education. Thien Nguyen was born in Vietnam and lived there…