Profiles in Innovation

Twelve Inventions That Changed the World... and the WPI Graduates Behind Them

WPI was founded in 1865 on the revolutionary concept of blending classroom learning and practical application. This approach to education has prepared generations of problem solvers-individuals whose new ideas and inventions have literally changed the world. Working alone or leading teams, in basement workshops or industrial research laboratories, they have added innumerable chapters to the annals of progress, have won patents too numerous to count, and have been responsible for advances that continue to shape our world today.

This site tells the stories of 12 of those problem solvers whose innovations made a positive impact on our lives. These innovations are honored, in metal, glass and light, in the WPI Corporate Partners Wall, a permanent installation on the third floor of the Campus Center.

• Airbag Safety System
• Area Rule of High-Speed Aircraft Design
• First Unbreakable Cryptosystem
• Internal Grinding Machine for Engine Manufacture
• Negative Feedback Theory
• Stainless Steel
• The Catalytic Converter
• The First Commercial Radio Station
• The First Liquid-Fueled Rocket
• The First Portable Drug Infusion Pump
• The Parallel-Wire Strand System for Suspension Bridges
• Traffic Engineering