AFI Inventors

An innovator whose improvements on the telegraph contributed to the eventual invention of the telephone.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/alexander-graham-bell

A pioneer in the field of interactive video games, Baer invented what became known as the Magnavox Odyssey Home Video Game System.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/ralph-h-baer

Holder of multiple patents for the application of non-immunogenic, nucleoside-modified RNA, Karikó’s research and technology was fundamental in the development of the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/katalin-kariko

Though best known as an actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, she worked with composer George Antheil to invent a frequency hopping technique that today is referenced as an important development in the field of wireless communications.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/hedy-lamarr

Invented the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a semiconductor power switch that has reduced gasoline consumption by 10% and improved electrical energy efficiency by more than 40%. A tiny chip that controls energy usage, the IGBT is used in household appliances, cars, solar panels, fluorescent lighting, medical equipment, bullet trains, and more.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/bantval-jayant-baliga

A pioneer in applied laser technology, Javan's most significant invention is the helium-neon laser, the most useful and practical type of laser in use today.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/ali-javan

An enterprising refugee from czarist Russia who initially sold fried donuts to make a living. Crowds of donut-lovers eventually pushed him to make a gadget that churned out the tasty rings faster than he could by hand, which became an invention that he patented in the U.S. in 1920.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-history-of-the-doughnut-150405177/

Invented the automatic shoe lasting machine, mechanizing the complex process of joining a shoe sole to its upper, and revolutionizing the shoe industry.

https://www.invent.org/inductees/jan-ernst-matzeliger