Showing 1 - 25 of 62 results
Maxime Faget
Space Capsule Design
Max Faget conceived and designed the first space capsule, Mercury, from which the designs for the Gemini capsule and the Apollo command and service…
Frank J. Cepollina
Satellite Servicing Techniques
The success of the Hubble Space Telescope is due to NASA's ability to repair and upgrade Earth-orbiting spacecraft via the space shuttle. Since its…
George R. Carruthers
Far Ultraviolet Electrographic Camera
George Carruthers invented the Far Ultraviolet Electrographic Camera. This camera uses ultraviolet light to study Earth's upper atmosphere, stars,…
George Edward Alcorn
X-ray Spectrometer
George Alcorn was a pioneering physicist and engineer noted for his aerospace and semiconductor inventions. His X-ray imaging spectrometer, patented…
Philippe Horvath
CRISPR-Enhanced Food Products
Molecular biologists Philippe Horvath and Rodolphe Barrangou discovered that CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) and…
Asad Madni
MEMS Gyroscope for Aerospace and Automotive Safety
Asad Madni led the development and commercialization of the MEMS gyroscope for aerospace and automotive safety. Commercialized as the GyroChip and…
Howard S. Jones Jr.
Conformal Antennas
Howard Jones invented conformal antennas – lightweight antennas found in rockets, missiles and spacecraft. His innovations in antenna technology…
Rodolphe Barrangou
CRISPR-Enhanced Food Products
Molecular biologists Rodolphe Barrangou and Philippe Horvath discovered that CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)…
Kenneth C. Jordan
Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generator (RTG)
Ken Jordan worked as a nuclear physicist at Monsanto's Mound Laboratory for 36 years, and in 1954, he and colleague John Birden invented the…
Calvin Fuller
Silicon Solar Cell
Chemist Calvin Fuller co-invented the silicon solar cell with physicists Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson. Building on Albert Einstein's theories…
Alice Stoll
Fire-Resistant Fibers and Fabrics
Alice Stoll, a research physiologist and pioneer in aerospace medicine, led the development of fire-resistant fabrics in the 1960s. Her work made it…
Lorenzo L. Langstroth
Beehive
Lorenzo Langstroth invented the modern beehive in 1851, enabling a greater production of honey. The domesticated honeybee's honey is not just a food…
Lonnie Johnson
Super Soaker®
Engineer and entrepreneur Lonnie Johnson is the inventor of the Super Soaker®, a bestselling toy generating well over $1 billion in sales over its…
Robert Hutchings Goddard
Solid Fuel Rockets
Robert Hutchings Goddard pioneered modern rocketry and space flight and founded a whole field of science and engineering. Born in Worcester,…
Theophilus Van Kannel
Revolving Door
In 1888, Theophilus Van Kannel invented the revolving door, a design that characterized the entrance of modern skyscrapers.
The revolving door…
Edwin A. Link
Flight Simulator
Edwin A. Link had an impact on aerospace and hydrospace few will match. His contributions to aviation are unparalleled. He invented the first…
Nils I. Bohlin
Safety Belt
Nils Bohlin, while with Volvo, invented the three-point safety belt, a standard in the modern automobile. Early tests showed that the belt was…
Willard S. Boyle
Charge-Coupled Device
Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented the charge-coupled device (CCD), a light-sensitive microchip that enabled dramatic advances in digital…
Charles Stark Draper
Stabilizing Gyroscope
Aeronautical engineer and university professor Charles Stark Draper developed gyroscope systems that stabilized and balanced gunsights and bombsights…
Willard H. Bennett
Radio Frequency Mass Spectrometer
Willard Harrison Bennett pioneered the field of plasma physics and invented the radio frequency mass spectrometer. Born in Findlay, Ohio, Bennett…
Robert Bryant
LaRC-SI (Langley Research Center-Soluble Imide)
NASA chemist Robert Bryant developed a polymer called LaRC-SI (Langley Research Center-Soluble Imide), taking it from laboratory discovery to…
William Seward Burroughs
Calculator
William Seward Burroughs invented the first practical adding and listing machine. Born in Rochester, New York, Burroughs began his career as a bank…
John Birden
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG)
John Birden and Ken Jordan built and developed the first radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) while working at Monsanto's Mound Laboratory in…
Cyril Keller
Bobcat® Skid-Steer Loader
Brothers Cyril and Louis Keller played a key role in launching the compact equipment industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s with their invention…
David Walt
Microwell Arrays
David Walt created microwell arrays that could analyze thousands of genes simultaneously, revolutionizing the field of genetic analysis. His…