Table Of Content

Does America Need More Innovators? Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation Joyce Bedi, Arthur Daemmrich, and Arthur P. Molella, general editors Arthur P. Molella and Joyce Bedi, editors, Inventing for the Environment Paul E. Ceruzzi, Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945–2 005 Robert H. Kargon and Arthur P. Molella, Invented Edens: Techno-C ities of the Twentieth Century Kurt W. Beyer, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age Michael Brian Schiffer, Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity before Edison Regina Lee Blaszczyk, The Color Revolution Sarah Kate Gillespie, The Early American Daguerreotype: Cross-C urrents in Art and Technology Matthew Wisnioski, Eric S. Hintz, and Marie Stettler Kleine, editors, Does America Need More Innovators? Does America Need More Innovators? Matthew Wisnioski, Eric S. Hintz, and Marie Stettler Kleine, editors The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2019 Smithsonian Institution All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. This book was set in Stone Serif by Westchester Publishing Services. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available. Names: Wisnioski, Matthew H., 1978– editor. | Hintz, Eric S., editor. | Kleine, Marie Stettler, editor. Title: Does Amer i ca need more innovators? / edited by Matthew Wisnioski, Eric S. Hintz, and Marie Stettler Kleine. Description: Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, [2019] | Series: Lemelson center studies in invention and innovation series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018034415 | ISBN 9780262536738 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Engineering and state—U nited States. | Technological innovations— United States. Classification: LCC T21 .D637 2019 | DDC 338.973/06—d c23 LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2018034415 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Series Foreword vii Acknowledgments ix 1 The Innovator Imperative 1 Matthew Wisnioski I Champions 2 Introduction 17 3 An Innovators’ Movement 25 Humera Fasihuddin and Leticia Britos Cavagnaro 4 Building High- Performance Teams for Collaborative Innovation 51 Mickey McManus and Dutch MacDonald 5 Raising the NSF Innovation Corps 69 Errol Arkilic 6 Making Innovators, Building Regions 83 Maryann Feldman 7 Innovation for Every American 105 Jenn Gustetic II Critics 8 Introduction 133 9 How Innovation Evolved from a Heretical Act to a Heroic Imperative 141 Benoît Godin vi Contents 10 Failed Inventor Initiatives, from the Franklin Institute to Quirky 165 Eric S. Hintz 11 Building Global Innovation Hubs: The MIT Model in Three Start- Up Universities 191 Sebastian Pfotenhauer 12 The Innovation Gap in Pink and Black 221 Lisa D. Cook 13 Make Maintainers: Engineering Education and an Ethics of Care 249 Andrew L. Russell and Lee Vinsel III Reformers 14 Introduction 273 15 Designing Learning Environments That Engage Young People as Creators 281 Natalie Rusk 16 Using the Past to Make Innovators 299 W. Bernard Carlson 17 Confronting the Absence of Women in Technology Innovation 323 Lucinda M. Sanders and Catherine Ashcraft 18 Making Responsible Innovators 345 Erik Fisher, David Guston, and Brenda Trinidad 19 Remaking the Innovator Imperative 367 Matthew Wisnioski, Eric S. Hintz, and Marie Stettler Kleine Contributors 375 Index 379 Series Foreword Is it possible to go an entire day in our interconnected, technology-m ediated world without hearing the word “innovation” at least once? Used for every- thing from marketing gimmicks to truly game- changing breakthroughs, innovation has simultaneously become a goal, a measure of success, and a compulsion for many individuals and corporations. We are urged to be innovative at work and in our personal lives, and to help our children be innovative as well. What are the pros and cons of this mandate to innovate? This volume begins to answer that question by putting champions of innovation in conversation with those who question the imperative to innovate, as well as those who trust in the imperative but see ways to improve it. The result is a richly textured picture of the ubiquity of innovation in American life. Invention and innovation have long been recognized as transforma- tional forces in American history, not only in technological realms but also in politics, society, and culture, and they are arguably more important than previously thought in other societies as well. Innovation especially has become a universal watchword of the twenty-f irst century, so much so that nations are banking their futures on its economic and social effects. Since 1995, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center has been investigating the history of invention and innovation from broad interdisciplinary per- spectives. Books in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innova- tion continue this work to enhance public understanding of humanity’s inventive impulse. Authors in the series raise new questions about the work of inventors and the technologies they create, while stimulating cross- disciplinary dialogue. By opening channels of communication between the various disciplines and sectors of society concerned with technological viii Series Foreword innovation, the Lemelson Center Studies advance scholarship in the history of technology, engineering, science, architecture, the arts, and related fields and disseminate it to a general interest audience. Joyce Bedi, Arthur Daemmrich, and Arthur P. Molella Series editors, Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation Acknowledgments Engaging in dialogue with those from different communities and differ- ing points of view requires commitment and generosity. We are grateful to the many contributors who gave us both as they submitted their ideas about innovation for testing in this multidisciplinary project, especially as debates about innovation’s relative merits grow increasingly heated. The volume emerged from a workshop jointly held at Virginia Tech’s Arlington Research Center and the Lemelson Center for the Study of Inven- tion and Innovation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. For financial support, we are thankful to the National Science Foundation (SES 1354121); the Lemelson Center; Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology; the Virginia Tech Department of Sci- ence, Technology, and Society; and Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. The arguments in the volume were sharpened greatly by conference participants including Janet Abbate, David Kirsch, Benjamin Knapp, Doreen Lorenzo, Sonja Schmid, Timothy Sands, Monica Smith, Walter Valdivia, and Kari Zacharias. The volume would not have been possible without the hard work of a large supporting cast. This has included Audra Wolfe, Doris Shelor, Karen Snider, Chris Gauthier, Sanjay Raman, Paula Byron, Joyce Bedi, and Katie Helke. Finally, we thank Cindy Rosenbaum, Emma Hintz, and Kaleb Kleine for tolerating this ongoing dialogue over many weeks and months.