Lemelson-MIT Program
The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention. Prolific U.S. inventor Jerome Lemelson established the Lemelson-MIT Program at MIT in 1994. It is funded by the Lemelson Foundation, which celebrates and supports inventors and entrepreneurs in order to strengthen social and economic life — a closely shared interest with MIT.
The Lemelson-MIT Program fosters interest in and appreciation for invention, especially among youth, through various outreach initiatives and resources:
- Presented annually, EurekaFest is a multi-day celebration designed to empower a legacy of inventors through activities that inspire youth, honor role models, and encourage creativity and problem solving.
- The Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam initiative awards grants up to $10,000 each to teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. Each October, high schools from across the United States are selected as InvenTeams. The initiative is actively exploring international and corporate engagement opportunities.
- The Invention Index is an annual survey that gauges Americans’ perceptions about invention and innovation.
The annual Lemelson-MIT Awards serve to promote and stimulate invention:
- The $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize honors outstanding mid-career inventors dedicated to improving our world through technological invention and innovation.
- The $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability recognizes and supports inventors working to safeguard the well-being of our communities and planet.
- The $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize honors promising young inventors studying at MIT.
- The program also funds collegiate student prizes at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois, and the California Institute of Technology.
The Lemelson-MIT Program also supports MIT’s academic programs and student competitions through partnerships with the MIT IDEAS Competition and 2.009 Product Engineering Processes course.
