The Lemelson Foundation

06/03/2026

How should we approach the use of artificial intelligence in higher education and innovation? How can we encourage students to learn how to be discerning users of AI in their future roles as engineers, inventors, designers, and innovators?

VentureWell President and CEO Phil Weilerstein shares insights on the challenges and opportunities of AI for innovation ecosystems, drawn from a panel discussion with three leaders in medtech and biomedical engineering.

Read his piece here: https://venturewell.org/blog/responsibility-artificial-intelligence-panel/

Following a recent BME-IDEA panel, VentureWell President and CEO Phil Weilerstein reflects on how to prepare the next generation of innovators for a healthcare landscape increasingly shaped by AI.

06/02/2026

"If a philanthropic organization is going to stand … with our partners, then one of the ways to show up is to tell the story,” says STEM Funders Network (SFN) Executive Director Errika Moore.

ICYMI: Our latest Invention Notebook article features Moore, a former engineer who is helping funders focus on making STEM accessible to all students. Her organization, the STEM Funders Network, is working to transform the philanthropic ecosystem to expand access to STEM learning opportunities for historically marginalized groups.

Read more about Moore’s insights into the STEM landscape and the importance of philanthropy here: https://www.lemelson.org/transforming-the-philanthropic-landscape-for-stem/

05/29/2026

ICYMI: As National Inventors’ Month comes to an end, we wanted to reshare profiles of eight individuals who represent the promise of invention to solve challenges and positively impact the world.

With their unique perspectives, they demonstrate the vision of our founder — Jerome “Jerry” Lemelson, one of America's most prolific and versatile inventors — to improve lives across the globe.

These changemakers are also members of the VentureWell network — one of the first grantees of The Lemelson Foundation, and now celebrating thirty years of impact, fostering inventors in higher education and in early-stage careers.

💡Varun Kapoor invented a non-invasive test for the diagnosis of endometriosis
💡 Kathy Green launched a software platform that provides supply chain insights to safely deliver chemical cargo
💡 Mehdi Mortazawy created an alternative to catheterization to diagnose and manage heart failure at home
💡 Emily Hazelwood is developing machine learning tech to assess the environmental impact of offshore infrastructure
💡Samir Ibrahim is harnessing off-grid solar tech to improve the lives of smallholder farmers
💡Maria Artunduaga designed a wearable device and an AI-based platform to monitor respiratory health issues
💡Jiten Ghelani is advancing sustainably-powered cooling solutions for smallholder dairy farmers
💡Andrea Pais is developing affordable, point-of-care diagnostics for a variety of pathogens

🔗 Read more about their invention journeys here: https://www.lemelson.org/national-inventors-month-2026/

🔗 Read about the impact of our work in the National Inventors’ Month reflection from The Lemelson Foundation’s Executive Director Robert Schneider and VentureWell’s President and CEO Phil Weilerstein: https://www.lemelson.org/the-courage-to-invent
​
Blue Latitudes LLC SunCulture Samay Promethean Power SystemsNovel Microdevices, Inc.
​

05/28/2026

Did you know that heart failure is one of the world’s largest healthcare challenges?

Mehdi Mortazawy co-founded Coredio to improve the way we manage this condition. Their software platform connects to a patient’s wearable monitoring device and creates an AI digital “twin,” allowing medical professionals access to review and respond to cardiac metrics in real-time.

Learn more: https://www.lemelson.org/mehdi-mortazawy/

VentureWell

05/27/2026

Reliable electricity is essential to rural clinics, powering life-saving necessities like warmers for infants and cold storage for medicines.

Our grantee the SELCO Foundation is using decentralized renewable energy to ensure that clinics in India don’t experience electricity blackouts.

Working with philanthropic partners, their “Energy for Health” program is installing solar panels on 25,000 health facilities across India, leading to:

✅ more reliable healthcare
✅ climate resilience and carbon emission reduction
✅ improved conditions for health workers

Watch SELCO’s video to see the effects in one clinic in rural India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVHO2EPneaA

Learn more about our grantee and their model that promotes greater inclusivity in the transition to clean energy: https://www.lemelson.org/selco-foundation/

IKEA Foundation Ashraya Hastha Trust

The solarisation of Saiphai Sub Center has enabled availability of ...

05/26/2026

We are incredibly honored to see The Lemelson Foundation’s legacy featured alongside the Dolby family for this special fireside chat at the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 15th Annual Conference!

Invention isn't just about a single moment of discovery — it’s about the long-term impact that ideas have on industries and society. While Jerome "Jerry" Lemelson and Ray Dolby fundamentally reshaped American technology and intellectual property, the true power of their legacies lies in how they continue to inspire and support the next generation of ecosystem builders.

Join our Board President, Rob Lemelson, alongside David Dolby (Dolby Family Ventures) and moderator Phil Weilerstein (VentureWell) as they discuss the evolution of these legacies through modern philanthropy, impact investing, and advocacy for independent inventors.

📍 Where: Loews Hollywood Hotel (right next to the iconic Dolby Theatre!)

Check out the full conference program and secure your spot: https://web.cvent.com/event/39e5f307-b5b3-45c2-a485-1f9bf2540dc4/summary

Some inventions reshape industries, generate entirely new markets, and change the course of history.

At the National Academy of Inventors’ 15th Annual Conference, this special fireside chat brings together representatives of the Dolby and Lemelson families — two names deeply connected to the history of modern invention, intellectual property, and technology commercialization.

Ray Dolby transformed how the world experiences sound through technologies that became foundational to film, music, and entertainment. Jerome Lemelson built one of the most influential independent inventor legacies in American history, generating hundreds of patents and helping shape the modern conversation around invention and patent rights.

Now, the next generation carries those legacies forward through investment, philanthropy, and continued support for inventors and innovation ecosystems.

Moderator: Phil Weilerstein, HonNAI, President and Chief Executive Officer, VentureWell

Featuring:

— David Dolby, Chief Executive Officer, Dolby Family Ventures
— Robert Lemelson, Vice President, The Lemelson Foundation

Taking place in the Loews Hollywood Hotel beside the iconic Dolby Theatre, this conversation connects invention, legacy, and the long-term impact of ideas that continue shaping industries and society.

Explore the full conference program:
https://web.cvent.com/event/39e5f307-b5b3-45c2-a485-1f9bf2540dc4/summary

05/26/2026

“Resilience is just as important as innovation,” Dr. Maria Artunduaga shared as advice that she would have given herself at the start of her invention journey.

She left her career in plastic surgery to found the company Samay to support respiratory health and prevent misdiagnosis-related deaths. Her grandmother Sylvia’s fatal struggle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) inspired her to invent Sylvee, a device that monitors lung function at home.

Under her leadership, Samay has grown from a startup with one prototype to a global leader in medical innovation with 18 patents and 19 pending approvals.

Learn more: https://www.lemelson.org/maria-artunduaga/

VentureWell

05/21/2026

It was a comment from an engineering professor in college that inspired Errika Moore to ensure that STEM fields would be accessible to all.

“I went to see my professor during his office hours, and he told me that Black women had no business in engineering,” she explained.

More than 30 years later, Moore still recalls that transformational meeting as a key motivating influence in her career. In her current role as Executive Director of the STEM Funders Network, she works to transform the philanthropic ecosystem to expand access to STEM learning opportunities for historically marginalized groups.

We recently spoke with her about the STEM landscape, her personal motivations, and the importance of philanthropy. Read the interview in our Invention Notebook: https://www.lemelson.org/transforming-the-philanthropic-landscape-for-stem/

05/20/2026

Did you know? Around the world, nearly one in 10 women with endometriosis symptoms can go undiagnosed for years.

Varun Kapoor co-founded Nura Health in 2023 as a way to improve the diagnosis of endometriosis for millions of women. His company developed a groundbreaking, non-invasive test that eliminates the need for surgical biopsies and shortens the diagnosis time to a matter of days.

Learn more: https://www.lemelson.org/varun-kapoor/

VentureWell

05/18/2026

For years, chemist Kathy Green watched preventable safety mistakes happen in the chemical industry.

To find a way to more safely deliver chemical cargo, she created a cloud-based software platform that provides information throughout the supply chain. From pre-shipment to delivery, her company CargoCheck® offers tools that streamline communication across organizations, languages, and time zones.

“The reminder that customer discovery is a continuous process — not a milestone — helped me organize my time around what matters most: solving real problems for real people,” Green told VentureWell.

Learn more: https://www.lemelson.org/kathy-green/