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On Wednesday, Oct. 9, three student inventors affiliated with the Lemelson-MIT Program (LMIT) shared their stories of what inspired them to invent with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and employees of the U.S. Department of Education attending a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
The panel discussion, entitled “Spotlight on Latino Student Innovators & Aspiring STEM Leaders,” was part of a larger event (“Creando Futuros Brillantes”) sponsored by the White House Initiative for Hispanics.
Elias Escobar Argueta, a high school junior from Calistoga, California, spoke about his LMIT InvenTeam’s DulceTemperatura, a patent-pending invention designed to help farm workers keep cool and warm when working outdoors, and another device to help cool firefighters. Also participating were two former Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam students: Katia Avila Pinado from Pomona, California, who holds a patent for her team’s invention, Heart and Sole; and Lesly Rojas of Salem, Oregon, whose team developed an adaptive flow rate cup for people with dysphagia. Avila is now pursuing a degree in networks and digital technology at the University of California Santa Cruz. Rojas is pursuing a degree in electrical and computer engineering at Oregon State University.
Cristina Saenz, invention education manager with LMIT, also participated in the celebration and had an opportunity to speak with Secretary Cardona about the students’ achievements. Saenz notes, “We had this incredible opportunity for three young Latino inventors to amplify their experiences and share their inventions with members of the U.S. Department of Education. While this celebration of Hispanic Heritage enabled these three students to shine, one-in-four students in the U.S. school system are Latino who also need access and opportunities to showcase what they bring to their local and national communities. Si se puede!”
LMIT’s executive director, Stephanie Couch, says, “I am incredibly grateful to these students for sharing their stories of the power and promise of invention education. I hope that one day many more young women and people of color will be accessing invention education programs like ours, including learning how to protect their good ideas with a patent. These students offer glimpses into the life-changing nature of participation on an InvenTeam and/or LMIT’s other invention education offerings that are led by Dr. Saenz.”
The InvenTeams initiative, now in its 21st year, has enabled 18 teams of high school students to earn U.S. patents for their projects. Intellectual property education is combined with invention education offerings as part of the Lemelson-MIT Program’s deliberate efforts to remedy historic inequities among those who develop inventions, protect their intellectual property, and commercialize their creations. LMIT’s ongoing efforts empower students from all backgrounds, equipping them with invaluable problem-solving skills that will serve them well throughout their academic journeys, professional pursuits, and personal lives. Their work with 3,883 students across 296 different teams nationwide these past 21 years includes:
- developing the Inventing Smart Solutions curriculum;
- connecting with intellectual property law firms to provide pro bono legal support;
- collaborating with industry-leading companies that provide technical guidance and mentoring;
- providing professional development for teachers on invention education;
- assisting teams with identifying resources within their communities’ innovation ecosystems to support ongoing invention efforts; and
- publishing case studies and research to inform the work of invention educators and policymakers and build support for engaging students in efforts to invent solutions to real-world problems.
LMIT is a national leader in efforts to prepare the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs. Its work focuses on the expansion of opportunities for people to learn ways inventors find and solve problems that matter to improve lives. Their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion aims to remedy historic inequities among those who develop inventions, protect their intellectual property, and commercialize their creations.
Jerome H. Lemelson, one of U.S. history’s most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at MIT in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the MIT School of Engineering.
