
In the 1950s, AT&T Bell Labs was a hotbed of innovation, a place where engineers and theorists came together to invent the transistor and make major contributions to the field of lasers and cell phones. One reason: the leadership of Bell Labs’ research director Mervin Kelly, a 1914 physics graduate.
Kelly “hired the best researchers he could find for the good of the system” – and then got out of their way, wrote Jon Gertner in his 2012 book, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation. “In technology, the odds of making something truly new and popular have always tilted toward failure. That was why Kelly let many members of his research department roam free, sometimes without concrete goals, for years on end.”
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Alumni leading the telecommunications industry
Roy Wilkens, EE’66, and Mario A. Padilla, MetE’60, worked for years to challenge and change the status of the telecommunications…
Camille (Anderson) and Mark Herrera
Camille (Anderson) and Mark Herrera met in February 2007 after a mutual friend arranged for a double date at Alex’s…
Samantha (Somers) and Scott Holcomb
Samantha (Somers) and Scott Holcomb first met as they were trying to catch the last bus back to campus after…
Behind every weather forecast
The next time you’re watching the Weather Channel, you might want to thank S&T alumnus Harry Smith for equipping today’s…
Mary (Hilton) and Mike McEvilly
Mary (Hilton) and Mike McEvilly met in August 1978 at a Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity party. As students, the two…
The fine art of tuning a Corvette
Charlie Rusher, a 2011 graduate in mechanical engineering, “makes Corvettes sound like Corvettes.” Rusher was interviewed by The New York…