Massachusetts has a rich tradition of invention and ingenuity in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In fact, one of the reasons Kids In Tech was founded in Lowell,MA was for the city’s history of being a community of creators, the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution and the startup of the mechanized mills (thanks to Francis Cabot Lowell!)
With schools such as UMass, MIT and Harvard, it’s no wonder that Massachusetts is the host of a global market of talent. So who ARE these Massachusetts Inventors? For now, let’s start with three, but just know that this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Massachusetts STEM leaders!
- Probably the most widely known is Samuel Morse. But did you know that he is from Charlestown, MA? While he’s really known for inventing the Morse Code, he was also a painter! Morse was commissioned to paint former President John Adams, Judge Woodward, and President Monroe. He set aside painting and developed the concept of a single-wire telegraph. Morse code is still the primary language of telegraphy in the world!
- Move over Dr. Meredith Grey, because we’re shining the spotlight on Dr. Beth Stevens. Born in Brockton, MA and currently an associate professor in the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and the F. M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, she can certainly be described as a leader in the field. Her work and research on microglia is widely known and essential. Stevens even received the MacArthur Foundation’s award of $625,000 in order to continue her studies on brain cells.
- If the idea of a computer spreadsheet makes you smile, then Daniel Singer Bricklin and Bob Frankston. Thanks to these Harvard University grads, we can take pride in our data sorting, tabular rows and columns. All it took was taking some daydreams of computer-like calculators, and bringing them to life with ingenuity and technology.
Inventors, scientists, and daydreamers who turn visions into reality are the ones who ignite a love for all things STEM! Our goal at Kids in Tech is to give youth the necessary tech skills to be future leaders of the 21st-century innovation economy. We know that one day our students will make the blog list of most influential STEM leaders from Massachusetts!
