About the Edison Lecture Series

The Edison Lecture Series has reached over 22,000 students in Austin and Central Texas over the last seven years. The goal of Edison is to introduce middle and high school students to applications and impacts of electrical engineering. The Series was created in 2005 by The University of Texas at Austin Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (UT ECE). For many students, attending the Edison Lecture Series is their first trip to The University of Texas at Austin. Many educators feel that allowing young students the opportunity to visit the campus and experience a lecture in a collegiate environment can be beneficial to the students' perspective on future educational pursuits.

Often the early stages of preparing and learning, the fundamentals can be frustrating. We seek to show students the rewards at the end of those frustrations by focusing on the fun over the fundamentals for an afternoon. This gives students a rewarding and positive experience to associate with engineering and science.

The Edison Lecture Series selects a different topic each year focusing on a different industry, technology, or idea. Past Edison Lecture Series topics include:

2012 Robotics
2011 Software is Engineering
2010 Innovation
2009 Changing the World One Engineer at a Time
2008 Television and Surveillance
2007 Renewable Energy
2006 Microprocessors
2005 Communications

Thomas Alva Edison: Engineer and Innovator

Thomas Alva Edison ( 1847 – 1931) was an American inventor, scientist, and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He is credited with numerous inventions that contributed to mass communication and, in particular, telecommunications. These included a stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder, a battery for an electric car, electrical power, recorded music and motion pictures.

Edison originated the concept and implementation of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses, and factories – a crucial development in the modern industrialized world.

Edison's major innovation was the first industrial research lab, which was built in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Menlo Park became the first institution set up with the specific purpose of producing constant technological innovation and improvement. Edison was legally attributed with most of the inventions produced there, though many employees carried out research and development work under his direction. His staff was generally told to carry out his directions in conducting research, and he drove them hard to produce results. The large research group included engineers and other workers. With Menlo Park, Edison had created the first industrial laboratory concerned with creating knowledge and then controlling its application.

The Edison Medal is the oldest award in the area of electrical and electronics engineering, and is presented annually "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering or the electrical arts" by IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Src: Wikipedia.org