Invention - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Dec 2004
News

A Life by Design

“They would have been happy if the work of only two of the four groups resulted in new products,” says Ross. Inventing the Future Looking back, Ross, 49, says that Project Platypus represented “an assimilation of all that I have done, of... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; toys; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

21 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Are Crummy Products Your Next Growth Opportunity?

have owned started out as a disruptive company.— Clayton M. Christensen Copying the management best practices of leading firms isn't necessarily the answer, Christensen said. When inventors in the Middle Ages tried to invent a contraption... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

20 Mar 2017
Book

Why Companies Are Placing Users at the Core of Their Innovation Strategies

self-importance [when people say] that “my idea is the most important and most unique and people will steal it.” It’s good to invent and come up with a solution, but building it to scale is more important than anything else. My view is,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

17 Nov 2016
News

Wired for Innovation

long-distance oil and gas pipelines are guided by modern regulations and an infrastructure blueprint,” Skelly explains. “But existing US electric lines were erected by utility companies several decades ago, to connect local customers to nearby fossil fuel sources. That... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

06 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness

American company that filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The company developed the first digital camera in 1975. Yet Kodak was never able to ride the digital wave over the long haul, and the company's invention ironically served... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

William P. Lear

Long before he invented the autopilot and the executive jet that bears his name, Lear was a pioneer in the development of radio technology. A self-taught engineer, Lear developed the prototype for the first practical automobile radio... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

29 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Caves, Clusters, and Weak Ties: The Six Degrees World of Inventors

engineers? You're enmeshed within this wash of information, and your inventors create and they help others create and others help them create. Then the challenge becomes, which of these streams of invention do you decide to commercialize... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Publishing

18 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Leading Innovation is the Art of Creating ‘Collective Genius’

sustaining an innovative organization? A new book written with three coauthors attempts to answer the question of why some companies, such as Pixar, are able to invent continuously, while others aren't. “Conventional leadership won't get... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

Lammot du Pont

Under duPont’s leadership, researchers at duPont invented nylon, which revolutionized the textile industry. Researchers also discovered neoprene (the first general purpose synthetic rubber), Orlon and Dacron under duPont’s direction.... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

Lothar W. Faber

Faber improved the Eberhard-Faber Company’s product line by adding fountain pens, mechanical pencils, and refill leads. Faber also invented the clamp tip type of pencil with a removable, adjustable eraser. Faber grew the company’s... View Details

Keywords: Fabricated Goods

01 Dec 2017
News

Flight Path

Above: Drone Racing League Founder and CEO Nick Horbaczewski is having a magic moment. (photo by Jordan Hollender) Drone Racing League (DRL) founder and CEO Nick Horbaczewski (MBA 2008) wants to be clear: He didn’t invent the sport that... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

01 Jun 2009
News

Consumption Is America’s Competitive Advantage

fruitfully partner in a global economy. Bhidé argues that high-level know-how developed in other countries benefits the United States because it is highly mobile and cheap: What is invented expensively in Taiwan, for example, can then be... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Clarence Birdseye

While Birdseye did not invent the process of quick freezing, he was the first to create a commercially viable business with the technology. His advancements in the quick freezing process ensured that the foods' nutrients and taste would... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

John T. Dorrance

In 1899, Dorrance invented the process for making condensed soup, reducing canning and shipping costs by two-thirds. As a result of Dorrance’s invention, Campbell Soup became the first soup company to achieve national distribution. Within... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Portrait Project

Monica Sharma

these toys helped to instill an entrepreneurial and inquisitive mindset that resides deep within me today. In third grade, I won an award for my invention of an air-cooled hat for hot summer days. As a consultant, I was able to build... View Details

01 Feb 2002
News

Redefining Success: Women & Work.

it much easier to leave." Mothers of Invention With one child and a full-time job as managing director of Random House Children's Books in the U.K., Deborah J. Sandford (MBA '90) and her husband had an "action-packed schedule." When their... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Leo H. Baekeland

In 1907, Baekeland invented a high-quality synthetic substance that would change the lives of individuals and businesses forever – plastic (called Bakelite). Products produced with Bakelite were considered to be synonymous with high... View Details