New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame facts for kids
The New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame was created in 1987. It celebrates people and companies in New Jersey who have made amazing inventions. Each year, award winners are honored at a special dinner.
The Hall of Fame was first located at the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 1987 to 2002. Then, from 2003 to 2007, it received help from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. Since 2008, the Stevens Institute of Technology has overseen the Hall of Fame. In 2010, Greenberg Traurig also became a supporter.





Contents
Who Are the Hall of Fame Inductees?
The New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame honors many brilliant minds. These people created things that changed our world. Here are some of the inductees and their amazing inventions:
Name | Year | Invention | NJ Connection |
---|---|---|---|
Seth Boyden | 1989 | malleable iron (a type of strong metal) | Worked in Newark, New Jersey |
John Stevens (inventor) | 1989 | Many different inventions | Lived in Hoboken, New Jersey |
Jan A. Rajchman | 1989 | read-only memory (a computer memory type) | From Radio Corporation of America |
Albert Einstein | 1989 | Theoretical physics (ideas about how the universe works) | From Institute for Advanced Study |
Alfred Vail | 1989 | Telegraph (sending messages over wires) | From Speedwell Ironworks |
Thomas A. Edison | 1989 | Many different inventions (like the light bulb) | From his Edison laboratory |
Leo Sternbach | 1989 | benzodiazepines (a type of medicine) | From Hoffman-La Roche |
Selman Waksman | 1989 | streptomycin (a powerful antibiotic) | From Rutgers University |
Roy Weber | 1989 | Intelligent Network Services - 800 Number (toll-free calls) | From Bell Labs |
Vladimir Zworykin | 1989 | television | From Radio Corporation of America |
Oberlin Smith | 1990 | Magnetic recording (how sound and data are saved) | Lived in Bridgeton, New Jersey |
Karl G. Jansky | 1992 | radio telescope (for studying space) | From Bell Labs |
Albert Rose (physicist) | 1992 | video camera tube (for early cameras) | From Radio Corporation of America |
Paul K. Weimer | 1992 | thin-film transistor (used in screens) | From Radio Corporation of America |
John H. Sinfelt | 1992 | Unleaded gasoline | From ExxonMobil |
James Hillier | 1992 | electron microscope (to see tiny things) | From Radio Corporation of America |
Solomon Andrews (inventor) | 1992 | Dirigible (a type of airship) | Lived in Perth Amboy, New Jersey |
Walter Lincoln Hawkins | 1992 | Plastic cable sheathing (protecting wires) | From Bell Labs |
Walter Brattain | 1994 | transistor (a key part of electronics) | From Bell Labs |
William Shockley | 1994 | transistor | From Bell Labs |
John Bardeen | 1994 | transistor | From Bell Labs |
Les Paul | 1996 | guitar pickup (makes electric guitars work) | Lived in Mahwah, New Jersey |
Allen Balcom DuMont | 1998 | television | From DuMont Television Network |
William O. Baker | 1998 | synthetic rubber | From Bell Labs |
Edwin Howard Armstrong | 1998 | FM radio, regenerative receiver, superheterodyne receiver (radio technologies) | Worked in Alpine, New Jersey |
Willis Haviland Carrier | 1999 | Air conditioning | Worked in Newark, New Jersey |
Simon Lake | 2000 | submarine innovations | Born in Pleasantville, New Jersey |
Arthur Nobile | 2000 | prednisone (a medicine) | Born in Newark, New Jersey |
Martin Goetz | 2000 | software | From Applied Data Research |
Lee de Forest | 2001 | audion tube (important for early radio) | |
Arun Netravali | 2001 | HDTV (high-quality TV) | From Bell Labs |
John Augustus Roebling | 2002 | suspension bridge innovations | Worked in Trenton, New Jersey |
Samuel Leeds Allen | 2004 | Flexible Flyer (a famous sled) | From Moorestown Township, New Jersey |
James West | 2008 | electret microphone (used in phones and computers) | From Bell Labs |
Eugene I. Gordon | 2008 | Fiber optics innovations (for fast internet) | From Bell Labs |
George E. Smith | 2008 | charge-coupled device (CCD, used in digital cameras) | From Bell Labs |
Willard Boyle | 2008 | charge-coupled device (CCD) | From Bell Labs |
Gerhard M. Sessler | 2008 | electret microphone | From Bell Labs |
Edward C. Taylor | 2008 | tetracycline (an antibiotic) | From Princeton University |
Michael Francis Tompsett | 2010 | First Thermal and Charge Coupled Imager Patents, CCD Cameras and MOS Video ADC (digital imaging) | From Bell Labs |
Lynn Schneemeyer | 2011 | Material science innovations | From Rutgers University |
William K. Hagmann | 2012 | Medicinal chemistry innovations | From Merck & Co |
C. Frank Wheatley Jr. | 2013 | Power semiconductor devices and the Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) | From RCA |
Sander G. Mills | 2013 | Discoveries in cancer research, like Aprepitant (helps with chemotherapy side effects) | From Merck & Co. |
Adel A. Ahmed | 2013 | Bipolar integrated circuit design and the Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) integrated circuit | From RCA |
Philip Anderson | 2013 | Ideas about how magnets and disordered systems work, helping create computer memory | From Bell Labs |
Rajiv V. Joshi | 2014 | Development of integrated circuits (IC), memory, and predictive analytics | From Columbia University (NJ Resident) |
John R. Pierce | 2014 | Information theory and global and satellite communications | From Bell Labs |
Nikola Tesla | 2014 | Inventions transforming electrical engineering, including alternating current (AC) and radio | From Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing |
Dennis D. Jamiolkowski | 2015 | Absorbable polymers for medical devices | From Ethicon Inc. |
John Fenn | 2015 | Electrospray Mass Spectrometry (ESMS) technique (used in biomedical research) | From Princeton University |
Owen O'Connor | 2015 | New drugs for treating lymphoma | From Columbia University (NJ Resident) |
Yann LeCun | 2016 | Image and speech recognition, and Convolution Neural Networks (CNNs) | From Bell Labs |
Other Hall of Fame Inductees
- 1989: Calvin MacCracken, Roy Weber
- 1990: Hubert Lechevalier, Arthur Patchett, William Pfefferle, Harold Seidel, Marvin Weinstein
- 1991: Benjamin Abeles, George Cody, Carlyle Caldwell, Gordon W. Calundann, Andrew G. F. Dingwall, C. Reed Funk, Anthony D. Kurtz, Jerome Murray
- 1992: Melvin L. Druin, Frederick J. Karol, Harold Law, William L. Maxson
- 1993: Marc A. Chavannes, Alfred W. Fielding, Erwin Klingsberg, Keith D. Millis
- 1994: Jack Avins, William O. Geyer, George R. Hansen, Phillip H. Smith, Richard Williams (inventor)
- 1995: David Aronson (inventor), Alvin M. Cohan, George deStevens, Joseph J. Mascuch, Glenn Leslie Dimmick, Kenneth S. Johnson
- 1996: Richard Dehmel (inventor), Arnold J. Morway, Charles Frederick Wallace, N. Joseph Woodland
- 1997: Ezra Gould, Milton Morse, Harry L. Yale
- 1998: Joseph Abys, Nikil S. Jayant, Henry M. Rowan
- 1999: Cyrus W. Bemmels, Haig Kafafian, Morton A. Kreitchman
- 2000: Albert Ballman, Robert Laudise, Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, NJ, Alan White (inventor)
- 2001: Homer Z. Martin, Charles W. Tyson, Abdul Gaffar, Glen A. Reitmeier
- 2002: Isaac S. Blonder, Ben H. Tongue, Anthony E. Winston
- 2004: Dr. Corrado Dragone, Mr. Walter J. Krupick, Colonel Willian Blair, Dr. Meredith C. Gourdine
- 2005: William Trager, Howard J. Ellison, Clarence D. Chang, Anthony J. Silvestri, William H. Lang
- 2006: Daryl M. Chapin, Gerald L. Pearson
- 2009: Yvonne Claeys Brill
- 2010: Dr. Michael Tompsett, Dr. Andrew Chraplyvy, Dr. Robert Tkach, Dr. Kenneth Walker (inventor)
Inventors of the Year: Recognizing Top Innovators
This award celebrates inventors who have made significant breakthroughs in a specific year.
Name | Year | Invention | NJ Connection |
---|---|---|---|
David Cushman | 1989 | captopril (a heart medicine) | From Bristol-Myers Squibb |
Miguel Ondetti | 1989 | captopril | From Bristol-Myers Squibb |
James West | 1995 | electret microphone | From Bell Labs |
Bishnu Atal | 2000 | linear predictive coding (for speech processing) | From Bell Labs |
Philip Warren Anderson | 2001 | Theories about materials | From Bell Labs |
Robert Morris (cryptographer) | 2004 | cryptography (secure communication) | From Bell Labs |
Sidney Pestka | 2008 | interferon (a protein used in medicine) | From Hoffman-La Roche |
Gianluca Paladini | 2011 | volume visualization (seeing 3D data) | From Siemens |
Comaniciu | 2011 | robust object tracking (following objects in videos) | From Siemens |
Pal Maliga | 2011 | chloroplast transformation, plastid transformation (changing plant genes) | From Rutgers University |
Paula Tallal | 2012 | educational software innovations | From Rutgers University |
Other Inventors of the Year
- 1989: Frank Gutleber, Sheldon Karesh, Dusan Prevorsek, Leo Harwood, Amos Joel, Jr., Glenn Johnson, Jr., Walter Kosonocky, Mandayam Narasimhan, Deger Tunc
- 1990: Michael Catapano, Renato Noe, Daniel Kramer (inventor), Juris Mednis, Franklin Reick, Bart Zoltan
- 1991: William Charney, Charles Covino, Jack R. Hartford, Frederick M. Kahan, Gregory H. Olsten, Joseph F. Rizzo, David Savage, Guido Sartori & Winston S. Ho, Stanley S. Schodowski, Joseph V. Milo
- 1992: Murrae Bowden, Larry F. Thompson, John D. Geberth, Jr., Gideon Goldstein, August F. Manz, Victor Palinczar, Ross C. Terrell
- 1993: Michael J. Flowers, Louis L. Grube, Sue Wilson
- 1994: Eric J. Addeo, Robert E. Kerwin, Donald L. Klein, John C. Sarace, Kuo-Yann Lai, June D. Passaretti, Milan R. Uskokovic, Gilbert Zweig
- 1995: Richard Frenkiel, Robert D. Howson, Carl H. X, Liang Tai Wu
- 1996: Leslie R. Avery, Gilbert Buchalter, Lanny S. Smoot, Dominik M. Wiktor
- 1997: Arthur L. Babson, Walter Jinotti, Steven M. Kuznicki, Lee-Fang Wei, Tsong-Ho Wu, Richard C.L. Lau
- 1998: Gary Ver Strate, Mark J. Struglinski of Exxon Chemical Company in Linden, John E. Johnston of Warren Exxon Research and Engineering Co. in Annandale, Roger K. West, Joseph Dettling of Howell - Zhicheng Hu, Y.K. Lui, C.Z. Wan, Engelhard Industries, Michael Pappas (inventor), Melvin E. Kamen, John Mickowski
- 1999: Andrew Chraplyvy, Matawan Robert Tkach, Kenneth Walker (inventor), William Hickerson
- 2000: Gerard P. Canevari, Robert J. Fiocco, Richard R. Lessard, Alfonso DiMino, Barin Haskell
- 2001: J. Thomas Jennings, James D. Johnston (inventor), Jack H. Winters
- 2002: Valerie A. Bell, Irwin Gerszberg, Antoni S. Gozdz, Jean-Marie Tarascon, Paul C. Warren
- 2004: Dr. Igor Palley
- 2005: David M. Goldenberg, Jack R. Harford, Harry T. Roman
- 2006: Claude E. Gagna
- 2008: Amit Limaye
- 2009: Michael Seul, Christos Christodoulatos, George P. Korfiatis, Xiaoguang Meng, Mazakhir Dadachov
- 2010: Dr. Nicolas Girard (inventor), Dr. Bijan Harichian, Richard Caizza
Innovator Award: Recognizing Creative Thinkers
The Innovator Award celebrates individuals who have shown great creativity and new ways of thinking in their fields.
Name | Year | Field | NJ Connection |
---|---|---|---|
Lillian M. Gilbreth | 2005 | scientific management (making work more efficient) | From Montclair, New Jersey |
Albert Schatz | 2005 | streptomycin (an antibiotic) | From Rutgers University |
John von Neumann | 2006 | computer science | From Institute for Advanced Study |
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr. | 2006 | scientific management | From Montclair, New Jersey |
Lyman Spitzer, Jr. | 2006 | Theoretical physics | From Princeton University |
Kamalesh Sirkar | 2009 | Membrane separation (for filtering things) | From New Jersey Institute of Technology |
Linda Brzustowicz | 2010 | Genetics research | From Rutgers University |
Corporate Award: Companies That Innovate
This award honors companies in New Jersey that have made important contributions through their research and development.
Trustees Award
This award recognizes special individuals for their leadership and support of innovation.
- Representative Rush Holt (2009)
- Dr. Ralph Izzo (2010)
- Dr. Jeong Kim (2011)
- Dr. Stephen Chu (2012)
- Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. (2013)
- Greg Olsen, Ph.D. (2014)
Outstanding Contributions Award
This award honors people who have made significant and lasting contributions to the field of invention.
- Dr. Gertrude M. Clarke (2011)
- Inventor Harry Roman (2012)
Advancement of Invention Award
This award is given to organizations or individuals who help promote and support new inventions.
- New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey (1997)
- New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (1999)
- Gil Zweig (2009)
- Dr. Dr. Rainer Martini (2011)
- Dr. Dr. Hsuan Lillian Labowsky (2012)
- Dr. Yu-Dong Yao, Ph.D. (2013)
- Dr. Beatrice Hicks, D.Sc. (Hon) (2013)
- Dr. Leslie Brunell, P.E., Ph.D (2014)
- Dr. Beth McGrath, Mercedes McKay & Jason Sayres (2014)
- Dr. Joshua Weston (2014)
See also
- National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey
- Edison Patent Award