Touch-tone telephone

The invention: 

A push-button dialing system for telephones that
replaced the earlier rotary-dial phone.

The person behind the invention:

Bell Labs, the research and development arm of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company

Tidal power plant

The invention:

Plant that converts the natural ocean tidal forces
into electrical power.

The people behind the invention:

Mariano di Jacopo detto Taccola (Mariano of Siena, 1381-1453),
an Italian notary, artist, and engineer
Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1697 or 1698-1761), a French engineer
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), president of the United States

Thermal cracking process

The invention: 

Process that increased the yield of refined gasoline
extracted from raw petroleum by using heat to convert complex
hydrocarbons into simpler gasoline hydrocarbons, thereby making
possible the development of the modern petroleum industry.

The people behind the invention:

William M. Burton (1865-1954), an American chemist
Robert E. Humphreys (1942- ), an American chemist

Tevatron accelerator

The invention: 

A particle accelerator that generated collisions between
beams of protons and antiprotons at the highest energies
ever recorded.

The people behind the invention:

Robert Rathbun Wilson (1914- ), an American physicist and
director of Fermilab from 1967 to 1978
John Peoples (1933- ), an American physicist and deputy
director of Fermilab from 1987

Television

The invention:

System that converts moving pictures and sounds
into electronic signals that can be broadcast at great distances.

The people behind the invention:

Vladimir Zworykin (1889-1982), a Soviet electronic engineer and
recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1967
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow (1860-1940), a German engineer and
inventor
Alan A. Campbell Swinton (1863-1930), a Scottish engineer and
Fellow of the Royal Society
Charles F. Jenkins (1867-1934), an American physicist, engineer,
and inventor

Telephone switching

The invention: 

The first completely automatic electronic system
for switching telephone calls.

The people behind the invention:

Almon B. Strowger (1839-1902), an American inventor
Charles Wilson Hoover, Jr. (1925- ), supervisor of memory
system development
Wallace Andrew Depp (1914- ), director of Electronic
Switching
Merton Brown Purvis (1923- ), designer of switching
matrices

Teflon

The invention: 

Afluorocarbon polymer whose chemical inertness
and physical properties have made it useful for many applications,
from nonstick cookware coatings to suits for astronauts.

The person behind the invention:

Roy J. Plunkett (1910-1994), an American chemist

Talking motion pictures

The invention:

The first practical system for linking sound with
moving pictures.

The people behind the invention:

Harry Warner (1881-1958), the brother who used sound to
fashion a major filmmaking company
Albert Warner (1884-1967), the brother who persuaded theater
owners to show Warner films
Samuel Warner (1887-1927), the brother who adapted soundrecording
technology to filmmaking
Jack Warner (1892-1978), the brother who supervised the
making of Warner films

Syphilis test

The invention: 

The first simple test for detecting the presence of
the venereal disease syphilis led to better syphilis control and
other advances in immunology.

The people behind the invention:

Reuben Leon Kahn (1887-1974), a Soviet-born American
serologist and immunologist

August von Wassermann (1866-1925), a German physician and
bacteriologist

Synthetic RNA

 


The invention: 

A method for synthesizing the biological molecule
RNA established that this process can occur outside the living
cell.

The people behind the invention:

Severo Ochoa (1905-1993), a Spanish biochemist who shared
the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Marianne Grunberg-Manago (1921- ), a French biochemist
Marshall W. Nirenberg (1927- ), an American biochemist
who won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Peter Lengyel (1929- ), a Hungarian American biochemist

Synthetic DNA

The invention: 

A method for replicating viral deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) in a test tube that paved the way for genetic engineering.

The people behind the invention:

Arthur Kornberg (1918- ), an American physician and
biochemist
Robert L. Sinsheimer (1920- ), an American biophysicist
Mehran Goulian (1929- ), a physician and biochemist

Synthetic amino acid

 The invention :

Amethod for synthesizing amino acids by combining water, hydrogen, methane, and ammonia and exposing the mixture to an electric spark.

The people behind the invention : 

Stanley Lloyd Miller (1930- ), an American professor of chemistry
Harold Clayton Urey (1893-1981), an American chemist who won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Aleksandr Ivanovich Oparin (1894-1980), a Russian biochemist
John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (1892-1964), a British scientist

Synchrocyclotron

The invention: 

A powerful particle accelerator that performed
better than its predecessor, the cyclotron.

The people behind the invention:

Edwin Mattison McMillan (1907-1991), an American physicist
who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1951
Vladimir Iosifovich Veksler (1907-1966), a Soviet physicist
Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901-1958), an American physicist
Hans Albrecht Bethe (1906- ), a German American physicist

Supersonic passenger plane

The invention: 

The first commercial airliner that flies passengers at
speeds in excess of the speed of sound.


The people behind the invention:

Sir Archibald Russell (1904- ), a designer with the British
Aircraft Corporation
Pierre Satre (1909- ), technical director at Sud-Aviation
Julian Amery (1919- ), British minister of aviation, 1962-1964
Geoffroy de Cource (1912- ), French minister of aviation,
1962
William T. Coleman, Jr. (1920- ), U.S. secretary of
transportation, 1975-1977

Supercomputer

The invention: 

A computer that had the greatest computational power that then existed.

The person behind the invention: 

Seymour R. Cray (1928-1996), American computer architect and designer

Steelmaking process

The invention: 

Known as the basic oxygen, or L-D, process, a
method for producing steel that worked about twelve times
faster than earlier methods.

The people behind the invention:

Henry Bessemer (1813-1898), the English inventor of a process
for making steel from iron

Robert Durrer (1890-1978), a Swiss scientist who first proved
the workability of the oxygen process in a laboratory

F. A. Loosley (1891-1966), head of research and development at
Dofasco Steel in Canada

Theodor Suess (1894-1956), works manager at Voest

Stealth aircraft

The invention:

The first generation of “radar-invisible” aircraft, stealth planes were designed to elude enemy radar systems.

The people behind the invention: Lockhead Corporation, an American research and development firm Northrop Corporation, an American aerospace firm

Sonar

The invention:

A device that detects soundwaves transmitted
through water, sonar was originally developed to detect enemy
submarines but is also used in navigation, fish location, and
ocean mapping.

The people behind the invention:

Jacques Curie (1855-1941), a French physicist
Pierre Curie (1859-1906), a French physicist
Paul Langévin (1872-1946), a French physicist

Solar thermal engine

The invention:
The first commercially practical plant for generating
electricity from solar energy.

The people behind the invention:

Frank Shuman (1862-1918), an American inventor
John Ericsson (1803-1889), an American engineer
Augustin Mouchout (1825-1911), a French physics professor

Silicones

The invention:

Synthetic polymers characterized by lubricity, extreme
water repellency, thermal stability, and inertness that are
widely used in lubricants, protective coatings, paints, adhesives,
electrical insulation, and prosthetic replacements for body parts.

The people behind the invention:
Eugene G. Rochow (1909 - 2002 ), an American research chemist
Frederic Stanley Kipping (1863-1949), a Scottish chemist and
professor
James Franklin Hyde (1903- ), an American organic chemist

Scanning tunneling microscope

The invention:

A major advance on the field ion microscope, the
scanning tunneling microscope has pointed toward new directions
in the visualization and control of matter at the atomic
level.


The people behind the invention:

Gerd Binnig (1947- ), a West German physicist who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Heinrich Rohrer (1933- ), a Swiss physicist who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Ernst Ruska (1906-1988), a West German engineer who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a Dutch naturalist

Salvarsan

The invention:

The first successful chemotherapeutic for the treatment
of syphilis

The people behind the invention:

Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), a German research physician and
chemist
Wilhelm von Waldeyer (1836-1921), a German anatomist
Friedrich von Frerichs (1819-1885), a German physician and
professor
Sahachiro Hata (1872-1938), a Japanese physician and
bacteriologist
Fritz Schaudinn (1871-1906), a German zoologist

SAINT

The invention:

Taking its name from the acronym for symbolic automatic
integrator, SAINT is recognized as the first “expert system”—
a computer program designed to perform mental tasks requiring
human expertise.

The person behind the invention:

James R. Slagle (1934-1994), an American computer scientist

Rotary dial telephone

The invention:

The first device allowing callers to connect their
telephones to other parties without the aid of an operator, the rotary
dial telephone preceded the touch-tone phone.

The people behind the invention:

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), an American inventor
Antoine Barnay (1883-1945), a French engineer
Elisha Gray (1835-1901), an American inventor

Rocket

The invention: Liquid-fueled rockets developed by Robert H. Goddard
made possible all later developments in modern rocketry,
which in turn has made the exploration of space practical.
The person behind the invention:

Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), an American physics professor

Robot (industrial)

The people behind the invention:

Karel Capek (1890-1938), a Czech playwright
George C. Devol, Jr. (1912- ), an American inventor
Joseph F. Engelberger (1925- ), an American entrepreneur

Hydrogen-Powered RoboJelly

Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech have created an undersea vehicle inspired by the common jellyfish that runs on renewable energy and could be used in ocean dives for rescue and surveillance missions.
And my thoughts for future applications of this technology, it will be amazing, undersea travel will be revolutionized, may Jules Verne roll over in his grave.
In a study published this week in Smart Materials and Structures, scientists created a robotic jellyfish, dubbed RoboJelly, to feed off hydrogen and oxygen gases found in water.
"We've created an underwater robot that doesn't need batteries or electricity," said Dr. Yonas Tadesse, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UT Dallas and lead author of the study. "It feeds off hydrogen and oxygen gasses, and the only waste released as it travels is more water."
Engineers and scientists have increasingly turned to nature for inspiration when creating new technologies. The simple yet powerful movement of the moon jellyfish made it an appealing animal to simulate.

Robot (household)

The invention:

The first available personal robot, Hero 1 could
speak; carry small objects in a gripping arm, and sense light, motion,
sound, and time.

The people behind the invention:

Karel Capek (1890-1938), a Czech playwright
The Health Company, an American electronics manufacturer

Richter scale

The invention:

A scale for measuring the strength of earthquakes
based on their seismograph recordings.

The people behind the invention:

Charles F. Richter (1900-1985), an American seismologist
Beno Gutenberg (1889-1960), a German American seismologist
Kiyoo Wadati (1902- ), a pioneering Japanese seismologist
Giuseppe Mercalli (1850-1914), an Italian physicist,volcanologist, and meteorologist

Rice and wheat strains

The invention:

Artificially created high-yielding wheat and rice
varieties that are helping food producers in developing countries
keep pace with population growth
The people behind the invention:

Orville A. Vogel (1907-1991), an agronomist who developed
high-yielding semidwarf winter wheats and equipment for
wheat research
Norman E. Borlaug (1914- ), a distinguished agricultural
scientist
Robert F. Chandler, Jr. (1907-1999), an international agricultural
consultant and director of the International Rice Research
Institute, 1959-1972
William S. Gaud (1907-1977), a lawyer and the administrator of
the U.S. Agency for International Development, 1966-1969

The Problem of Hunger

In the 1960’s, agricultural scientists created new, high-yielding
strains of rice and wheat designed to fight hunger in developing
countries. Although the introduction of these new grains raised levels
of food production in poor countries, population growth and
other factors limited the success of the so-called “Green Revolution.”
Before World War II, many countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin
America exported grain toWestern Europe. After the war, however,
these countries began importing food, especially from the United
States. By 1960, they were importing about nineteen million tons of
grain a year; that level nearly doubled to thirty-six million tons in
1966. Rapidly growing populations forced the largest developing
countries—China, India, and Brazil in particular—to import huge
amounts of grain. Famine was averted on the Indian subcontinent
in 1966 and 1967 only by the United States shipping wheat to the region.
The United States then changed its food policy. Instead of contributing
food aid directly to hungry countries, the U.S. began working to help such countries feed themselves.
The new rice and wheat strains were introduced just as countries
in Africa and Asia were gaining their independence from the European
nations that had colonized them. The ColdWar was still going
strong, and Washington and other Western capitals feared that the
Soviet Union was gaining influence in the emerging countries. To
help counter this threat, the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) was active in the ThirdWorld in the 1960’s, directing
or contributing to dozens of agricultural projects, including building
rural infrastructure (farm-to-market roads, irrigation projects,
and rural electric systems), introducing modern agricultural techniques,
and importing fertilizer or constructing fertilizer factories in
other countries. By raising the standard of living of impoverished
people in developing countries through applying technology to agriculture,
policymakers hoped to eliminate the socioeconomic conditions
that would support communism.