 Display of inductees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | NIHF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1973 |
| Type | NPO |
| Legal status | Organization |
| Purpose | "Honor[ing] the women and men responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible." |
| Headquarters | 3701 Highland Park N.W. North Canton, Ohio 44720 |
| Location |
|
Region served | United States |
| Membership | 652 inventors |
| Affiliations | Invent Now America |
| Website | www |
TheNational Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an Americannot-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individualengineers andinventors who hold a USpatent of significanttechnology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also operates a museum inAlexandria, Virginia, sponsors educational programs, and a collegiate competition.[1]
As of 2025, 652inventors have been inducted, mostly constituting historic persons from the past three centuries, but also including living inductees.[2] Nominees must hold a US patent of significant contribution to the US welfare, and which advances science and useful arts.[3]
The NationalInventorsHall of Fame was founded in 1973 on the initiative of H. Hume Mathews, then the chairman of the National Council of Patent Law Associations (now the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Associations).[4] It was launched byEd Sobey, who was also the first director.[5][6] In 1974, it gained a major sponsor in theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office fromWashington, D.C.[7]
At first, the Hall was housed in theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C., near theWashington National Airport but it soon needed more room at a more prominent location. A committee was formed in 1986 to find a new home for it. For a time, theFranklin Institute inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, was the frontrunner. But in 1987, a patent attorney from Akron, Edwin "Ned" Oldham, the representative from the National Council of Patent Law Associations, led the drive to move the Hall to Akron. According to Maurice H. Klitzman, one of the founding members of the Board of Directors, because of the guaranteed financial support by the city of Akron that greatly exceeded any other community's proposal, the Board selected Akron as the new home. The construction of the new building was finished in 1995 and the Hall opened to the public with the name of the Inventure Place.[8]
From the beginning, the Inventure Place was intended to be more than a science and technology museum and library. It was designed to double as an inventor's workshop and a national resource center for creativity. Designed by an architect from New York City,James Stewart Polshek, it was a stainless-steel building, shaped like a curving row of white sails, with five tiers of exhibits. One of the exhibits allowed the visitors to use computer programs for making animations and mechanisms for running laser-light shows.[9]
But attendance did not meet expectations and the museum never made a profit, although its related ventures and programs, such as Invent Now and Camp Invention, proved to be more successful. In 2002, its name was changed to the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum (NIHFM). Six years later the NIHFM moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Its former facility was converted to aspecialty school for students in grades between 5th and 8th. Since 2010 it has been the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM Middle School, amiddle school for theAkron Public Schools.[10][11][12]
An annual induction ceremony is held to honor the newest inventor members. The venue is typically held near the NIHFM, though location varies; e.g., Arlington, VA in 1980;[13] Akron, OH in 1990[14] and 2006;[15] and Washington, DC in 2003[16] and 2010 onward.[17][18] During the museum's 2009 relocation, inductions were held at theComputer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.[19]
In Alexandria, the National Inventors Hall of Fame operates a museum in theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office building at 600 Dulany Street, with a gallery of digital portraits of the honorees, interactive kiosks and a theater.[20] Admission is free.
In addition to the exhibits of the artifacts and documents from the collections of the Patent and Trademark Office, it also sponsors Camp Invention, Club Invention, and the Collegiate Inventors Competition.
Camp Invention, founded in 1990, is a daytime summer camp for children, with program sites in 49 states.[21] Camp Invention is the only nationally recognized summer program focused on creativity, innovation, real-world problem solving and the spirit of the invention.
The Collegiate Inventors Competition was created in 1990 to encourage college and university students to be creative and innovative with science, engineering, and technology for dealing with the problems of the world. Since then, with the help from the sponsors, it has awarded more than $1 million to the winning students in two categories, undergraduate and graduate. In 2012, the first places were won with a delivery therapy for treatingcancer and a way to facilitatesuturing in abdominal surgery. Other finalists included the use ofCT scanning and3-D printing technology to replicate an amputee's lost hand, a low-profile shoulder brace that can be applied by the athletes themselves, and an electric motorcycle that runs on spheres instead of wheels.[22]
in Arlington, VA
in the Goodyear Aerospace Building, commonly known as the "blimp factory"
ceremonies today and tomorrow in Akron, Ohio
ceremony in Washington, D.C.
in Washington, District of Columbia
a ceremony in Washington
38°48′05″N77°03′50″W / 38.8014°N 77.0640°W /38.8014; -77.0640
