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A noted constructor of bridges and viaducts, he designed the the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty. He was also the first person to think of putting a tunnel under the English Channel and an underground rail system underneath Paris.
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel |
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Conceived, designed, and built an engineering marvel, which astonished the world at its debut and became a mainstay of American recreation. It was spun by either of two 1,000 horsepower steam engines, and stopped by an oversized air brake.
George W. G. Ferris |
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Patented 1,093 inventions in his lifetime, earning him the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” He improved upon the original design of the stock ticker, the telegraph, and Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. He was also quoted as saying, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
Thomas Edison |
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A civil engineer and scientist, he played a key role in developing the Canadian railway system, and his contribution to the adoption of the present system of time zones earned him the title of “Father of Standard Time.” He designed the first Canadian postage stamp. He was knighted on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee
Sir Sanford Fleming |
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A modern scientist, he is regarded as the “Father of Bioengineering” and the “Founder of Biomechanics.” He established the fundamentals of biomechanical properties in many of the human body’s organs and tissues. He founded the bioengineering program at the University of California, San Diego. He became the first bioengineer to receive the President’s National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor.
Yuan-Cheng Fung |
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Became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, at 10:56 p.m. EDT. He and “Buzz” Aldren spent about two and one-half hours walking on the moon, while pilot Michael Collins waited above in the Apollo 11 command module.
Neil Alden Armstrong |
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Most of the greats are known for one or two key innovations. He had three: regeneration, superheterodyning, and frequency modulation. His crowning achievement was the invention of wide-band frequency modulation, now known as FM radio.
Edwin Howard Armstrong |
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During the Crimean War, he invented a new type of artillery shell. He also invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively—essential to the development of skyscrapers. Among the many honors of his life were a Knighthood by the British crown and the Fellowship of the Royal Society.
Sir Henry Bessemer |
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Recipient of the Edison Medal from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, “For his contributions to the incandescent electric lighting and the X-ray arts.” His invention completely revolutionized the generation of X-rays and remains to this day the model upon which all X-ray tubes for medical applications are patterned.
William D. Coolidge |
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After designing a high-frequency alternator, he broadcast the first program of speech and music ever transmitted by radio. He established two-way transatlantic wireless telegraph communication. He also invented the heterodyne system of radio reception, the sonic depth finder, the radio compass, submarine signaling devices, the smoke cloud (for tank warfare), and the turboelectric drive (for battleships).
Reginald A. Fessenden |
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Was a pioneer in early digital computer development and invented random-access, coincident-current magnetic storage, which became the standard memory device for digital computers. He was also the founder of MIT System Dynamics group.
Dr. Jay W. Forrester |
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His discoveries of the physical laws of metallic reflection and light absorption, the optical properties of crystals, and the law of the angle of polarization, along with his improvement of the stereoscope and lighthouse apparatus, surpassed most scientific achievements of that era.
Sir David Brewster |
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In his teens he found his life purpose—he “imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars.” He developed the detailed mathematical theory of rocket propulsion. He pioneered modern rocketry, space flight, and founded a whole field of science and engineering. At the time of his death, he held 214 patents in rocketry
Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard |
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Played a leading role in the design of more than 40 aircraft and set up a Skunk Works-type operation to develop a Lockheed satellite—the Agena-D—that became the nation’s workhorse in space. His achievements over almost six decades captured every major aviation design award and the highest civilian honors of the U.S. government and made him an aerospace legend.
Clarence "Kelly" Johnson |
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He was educated in Scotland as a mechanical engineer. He returned to Detroit and invented a lubricator for steam engines. His new oiling device revolutionized the industrial machine industry by allowing machines to remain in motion while being oiled. This device, although imitated by other designers, was so successful that people inspecting new equipment would ask if it contained the real McCoy.
Elijah McCoy |
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The “Father of the Nuclear Navy” he led the development of the Navy nuclear submarine fleet. Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, he completed the world’s first nuclear submarine—the USS Nautilus--ahead of schedule. President Jimmy Carter presented him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest non-military honor.
Hyman G. Rickover |
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Was one of the world’s foremost aerodynamicsts and scientists and is widely recognized as the father of modern aerospace science. He was a professor of aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology and was one of the principal founders of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Theodore von Karman |
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American inventor, pioneer, mechanical engineer, and manufacturer. He is best remembered as the inventor of the cotton gin. He also affected the industrial development of the U.S. when, in manufacturing muskets for the government, he translated the concept of interchangeable parts into a manufacturing system, giving birth to the American mass-production concept.
Eli Whitney |
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He was an inventor who changed the world with electronics. He invented the triode valve, which contributed to the development of radio, radar, and television. He is most known for his pioneering work with the vacuum tube, first as a detector of radio waves, then as an amplifier for long-distance telephone calls, and finally as the major technology of the radio transmitter, still in use today.
Dr. Lee de Forest |
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He helped develop a gyrocompass for U-boats. When alerted by the possibility that the Germans might build an atom bomb, he wrote F.D.R. of the danger. He was the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed.
Albert Einstein |
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