kids encyclopedia robot

Lanny Smoot facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Lanny S. Smoot
Born (1955-12-13) December 13, 1955 (age 69)
Nationality American
Alma mater Columbia University
Brooklyn Technical High School
Occupation Engineer and Inventor
Employer Walt Disney Imagineering

Lanny Smoot (born December 13, 1955) is an amazing American engineer and inventor. He has created many cool things, especially for Disney. With over 100 patents, he is Disney's most creative inventor! He is also one of the most successful Black inventors in American history. Lanny loves to inspire young people, especially Black youth, to get involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Lanny Smoot's Early Life and Career

Lanny was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He went to Brooklyn Technical High School, a special school for students interested in technology. After high school, he attended Columbia University. He studied Electrical Engineering there, with help from a scholarship from Bell Labs.

After college, Lanny started working at Bell Communications Research, also known as Bellcore. While working, he also earned his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia. He worked at Bell for 20 years. During this time, he learned from great inventors like James West, who helped invent the electret microphone. Around the year 2000, Lanny joined Disney, where he is now a special researcher called a Disney Research Fellow.

Amazing Inventions and Projects

At Bell, Lanny Smoot worked on early ideas for video-on-demand. This was a new way to watch videos whenever you wanted, long before streaming services existed! He also worked on other video and fiber-optic technologies. He imagined a future where anyone could share videos easily.

At Disney, Lanny has created many magical effects and technologies. Some of his cool inventions include:

  • The special system that helps the Star Wars BB-8 droid roll around.
  • Interactive zoetropes, which are devices that make objects look like they are moving, for facial animation.
  • Eye imaging technology for superhero masks and helmets.
  • The "Where's the Fire?" game at Innoventions (Epcot).
  • Many spooky special effects for The Haunted Mansion ride.
  • Virtual interactive koi ponds at Hong Kong Disneyland.
  • Effects for Fortress Explorations at Tokyo DisneySea.
  • The "Power City" display inside Spaceship Earth (Epcot).
  • Realistic lightsabers for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience.

He has also patented new ride technologies and 3D displays that don't need special glasses!

Awards and Recognition

Lanny Smoot has received many awards for his incredible work:

1973 - He received the National Achievement Scholarship Award, which helps talented students go to college.
1987 - He won the Most Promising Engineer Award at the first Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA). This was for his important work in optical communications and broadband networks. He was also recognized for helping to create more opportunities for everyone.
1996 - He was named Inventor of the Year by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage - July 2022 (2)
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, one of Smoot's award winning projects
2008 - He received Thea Awards from the Themed Entertainment Association. These awards were for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland and the Kim Possible World Showcase Playtest at Epcot.
2017 - He earned another Thea Award for "Ghost Post." This was for his special effects advice on an experience inspired by the Haunted Mansion ride.
2020 - He was honored as a TEA Master (Theatrical Technology) by the Themed Entertainment Association. The award recognized his work on everything from Madame Leota’s floating crystal ball to Luke Skywalker’s glowing lightsaber. He created many magical effects for Disney's parks and resorts worldwide.
2022 - The United States Patent and Trademark Office named him Inventor of the Month.
2022 - He was featured in the National Inventors Hall of Fame exhibit called "Breaking Barriers: Honoring Extraordinary Black Inventors."
2024 - Lanny Smoot was officially inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. This honor was for his amazing theatrical technologies and special effects. He is the first Disney inventor to be inducted since Walt Disney himself, who was inducted in 2000 for inventing the Multiplane camera.
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Lanny Smoot Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.