Three-Day Innovation Event Series To Honor The Nation's Most Creative Minds On May 11-13

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Inventors Hall of Fame and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will induct 14 trailblazers who have changed the world through their prolific inventions. This year's expanded three-day celebration, emceed by Mo Rocca, Emmy winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and Host of CBS The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, will shine a spotlight on the men and women who are responsible for the evolution of innovation and technology. Their perseverance and passion serve as inspiration to every generation and continue to drive entrepreneurship and curiosity in order to brighten our nation's future.

"The 2015 Inductees risked everything to create what the general public now takes for granted," said Invent Now, Inc. CEO Michael Oister. "We are privileged to honor them during the 43^rd Annual National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. We are optimists and catalysts for positive change and we challenge the next generation to reinvent America."

This year's celebration will honor life-changing achievements of innovators who gave us the blue light-emitting diode (LED), Bluetooth^® wireless technology, the X-ray spectrometer, rear projection television and 3D applications, regenerated skin and many other avant-garde breakthroughs in medicine, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The criteria for Induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame requires candidates to hold a U.S. patent that has contributed significantly to the nation's welfare and the advancement of science and useful arts.

The 2015 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees include George Alcorn, John Burke Mary-Dell Chilton, Edith Clarke, Marion Donovan, Charles Drew, Jaap C. Haartsen, Thomas Jennings, Kristina M. Johnson, Paul MacCready, Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura, Stanford Ovshinsky, Gary Sharp and Ioannis Yannas. For more information about this year's Inductees please visit our media room.

"I am so happy that the National Inventors Hall of Fame was invented. Otherwise I would not have the wonderful opportunity to host this three-day celebration of American inventiveness," said Mo Rocca, Emmy winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and Host of CBS The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation. "My hope is that the genius of these innovators and visionaries will rub off on me so that one day I will invent something worthy of induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame."

The three-day event series will include:  

• National Inventors Hall of Fame Illumination Ceremony on May 11 at 5 p.m. at the National Inventors Hall of Fame on the USPTO Campus in Alexandria, Va. The 2015 Inductees will place their illuminated hexagons in the Gallery of Icons – the National Landmark to Innovation™. One by one, the Inductees will light the path of history throughout the nation while simultaneously shaping the future of innovation.
  
  In addition, the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum will unveil the 2014 Inductees' artifacts and prototypes in a feature exhibit. Artifacts include the first-generation 3D Printer invented by Chuck Hull, William Bowerman's iconic waffle maker that produced a lighter and faster athletic shoe and Ashok Gadgil's UV Waterworks, which led the way for innovative solutions for providing clean water in developing nations.
• National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 12 at 8:30 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. This year's Master of Ceremonies, Mo Rocca, will lead the event as each of this year's Inductees are honored for their contributions to the prosperity and well-being of America and the world.
• Innovation Echo: Tomorrow's Brightest Days panel on May 13 at 10:30 a.m. presented with the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Innovation giants will come together to illuminate America's path to innovation through a panel discussion comprised of some of the most influential technology leaders in America. The panel will be moderated by Mo Rocca and includes panelists from the National Inventors Hall of Fame, The Washington Post and USPTO.

To be a part of this grand celebration and honor world-renowned inventors that have changed the world, please call 800.968.4332 or visit www.invent.org/sponsors. The National Inventors Hall of Fame is presenting individuals and businesses the opportunity to connect with the most powerful people in the innovation and technology industries.

"This year's Inductees have expanded our horizons, technological and intellectual, and their contributions have driven economic growth in America. They exemplify the true spirit of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Michelle K. Lee. "The USPTO's mission is to promote and encourage innovation, and this three-day event series of recognition will showcase the activities that fuel the American engine of innovation and provide a platform for future advances."

The National Inventors Hall of Fame's influence in driving innovation and its dedication to shaping the future continues well beyond the May Induction events. As part of their ongoing involvement in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Inductees will help to foster the development of America's next generation of innovators by helping to create the curriculum of Camp Invention. Celebrating its 25^th anniversary, Camp Invention is the nation's premier summer enrichment day camp that encourages innovation in youth through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) content. Inductees will also help select winners of the annual Collegiate Inventors Competition, a national platform for showcasing the emerging ideas and technologies that will benefit our society in the future.

For more information about the National Inventors Hall of Fame, please visit www.invent.org.

About the National Inventors Hall of Fame:
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is the premier non-profit organization in America dedicated to honoring legendary inventors whose innovations and entrepreneurial endeavors have changed the world. Founded in 1973 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Association, the Hall of Fame will have 516 Inductees with its 2015 Induction. The National Inventors Hall of Fame is located in the atrium of the Madison Building on the campus of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Va., Admission is free and the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays and federal holidays. Arrangements for the appearance of Mo Rocca made through Greater Talent Network, Inc., New York, NY. For more information on the National Inventors Hall of Fame, including Inductee nomination forms and a full listing of Inductees, please visit www.invent.org.

About Invent Now:
The mission of Invent Now is to be a catalyst for change through recognizing inventors and invention, promoting creativity and advancing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Invent Now was founded in 1973 as the National Inventors Hall of Fame with the mission of recognizing and honoring the great inventors of our time. Now a supporting organization of Invent Now, Inc., the National Inventors Hall of Fame honors individuals in recognition of their patented inventions that have created entire industries and driven this nation's economic progress.

About the United States Patent and Trademark Office:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. In doing this, the USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the legislative branch "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The USPTO registers trademarks based on the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). Under this system of protection, American industry has flourished. New products have been invented, new uses for old ones discovered, and employment opportunities created for millions of Americans. The strength and vitality of the U.S. economy depends directly on effective mechanisms that protect new ideas and investments in innovation and creativity. The continued demand for patents and trademarks underscores the ingenuity of American inventors and entrepreneurs. The USPTO is at the cutting edge of the nation's technological progress and achievement.

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SOURCE National Inventors Hall of Fame

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