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National Museum of Education
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: January 24, 2012
The National Museum of Education, located at 80 Bowery St. in downtown Akron, recently inducted five new members into its National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors, in a ceremony attended by Mayor Don Plusquellic, among other dignitaries.
The NME, founded 22 years ago as the Partnership for America’s Future, is unique in the country, said founder and CEO Nick Frankovits. “We are the Grand Central Station for information about American education,” he said.
In addition to honoring student inventors, which was the organization’s primary mission, the NME has extensive archives dedicated to education and acts as a resource for numerous teachers throughout the country.
“We disseminate a lot of information to teachers and students—it keeps us very busy,” said Frankovits.
“Everything that we do revolves around innovation and invention at our core,” he said. While this has generally been science-heavy, the organization has begun to look into innovation in the arts, as well.
The NME also gives an award to young entrepreneurs.
Although there are no money prizes associated with any of the contests or honors given by NME, the organization has been very successful in showing these students how to market their inventions—to date, 85 inventions that were honored by the NME have been taken to market.
“We track whiz kids,” said Frankovits, “and try to give them the resources and connections that they need.”
The NME has also developed a specific educational training for young inventors called “Inventucation, which is now eight years old, and which teaches students a method in which creative thinking, critical thinking, and innovation, with a hint of invention, are applied to existing educational concepts.
NME sponsors several national invention-oriented contests. Among them are a rubber band contest sponsored by the University of Akron and others sponsors, a battery contest sponsored by Duracell, a bubble wrap competition, a “Jimmy Neutron” contest in conjunction with Universal Studios and the National Frey Science Contest.
NME has designed several learning camps for young inventors and entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the organization runs a national invention competition called Student Ideas for a Better America. Participating in this contest can be a precursor to entry into the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors.
NME has recently begun a program to bring young artists in, to join the inventors and entrepreneurs. Called the National Gallery for America’s Young Artists, the program is being put together in conjunction with the Vatican Splendors Exhibit, which Frankovits saw a few years ago.
The 2011 inductees to the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors, an annual event in Akron since 1996, are an interesting group of high school students.
David Campeau, a junior from Rochester, Minnesota, has invented a brain-computer interface which allows him to communicate directly with his computer via a few electrodes attached to his head. He also won the International Biogenius Challenge this past June.
Riley Ennis, now a freshman at Dartmouth but from McLean, Virginia, developed an innovative cancer vaccine. He prefers to do his research on sea animals instead of mice.
Alexander Gilbert, now a freshman at MIT, and also from McLean, Virginia, developed two significant improvements to the contrast for MRI machines, including a new computer algorithm, and a study of a blue dye that can be used in MRIs. These inventions will make MRIs more applicable to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and multiple sclerosis. Gilbert was named Popular Science magazine’s “top inventor” for 2011.
Siddhartha Gautama Jena, a senior in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, invented a product that helps to alleviate dehydration in people with high cholesterol.
Samantha Marquez, a sophomore from Midlothian, Georgia, is 15 years old and already holds seven patents and 10 trademarks. She has invented an artificial cell, called Celloidosomes, which will be (or are) capable of creating new kinds of organisms. She is one of the world’s leading bioengineers, having already participated in internships at Harvard, Arizona State, Texas A&M, and Florida. Her inventions are being applied to high-concept engineering feats like cellular reactors and artificial glands.
The keynote speaker at the ceremony was 2007 inductee Micah Toll, an inventor of portable engineering technology for disaster relief sites.
The National Education Museum is open to visitors by appointment only. To set up a visit, or for more information, go to www.nmoe.org.