MTL News Archives for 2005

"25 Years of Really Cool Stuff" Includes MEMS, OLEDs, Nanotechnology


January 17, 2005

CNN collaborated with the Lemelson-MIT Program to produce a show about the top 25 innovations of the past quarter-century.

The one-hour special "Top 25 Innovations" aired Jan. 16 and will be rebroadcast Saturday, Jan. 22. The show, hosted by Miles O'Brien, jump-starts a year-long celebration of the network's 25th anniversary.

The list of 25 top innovations highlights non-medical technological innovations that have become widely used since 1980, are readily recognizable by most Americans, have had a direct and perceptible impact on everyday lives, and/or could dramatically affect our lives in the future.

The Lemelson-MIT Program conducted preliminary research for the list, then gave it to faculty at the MIT School of Engineering, who ranked the items and expanded the list. From there it went to a panel of technology experts outside MIT. Under the chairmanship of Professor Merton Flemings, director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, a sub group of the panel of experts ratified the final 25 ranking.

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