The Edison Papers
Edison.rutgers.edu
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
732/445-8511
44 Road 3 – Livingston Campus
Piscataway, NJ 08854
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE MIT ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION OF PRINCETON AND THE
THOMAS EDISON PAPERS AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
INVITE YOU TO
INVENT LIKE EDISON
Grandniece of Thomas Edison, Author Sarah Miller Caldicott, and Edisonian Historian Paul
Israel to be Featured Speakers at May 15th INVENT LIKE EDISON Event
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – APRIL 2008 - The MIT Alumnae Association of Princeton and the
Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University today announced they will be jointly hosting Invent
Like Edison. Invent Like Edison is intended to encourage students to explore careers in Math,
Science and Technology by highlighting the importance of science & math in invention and
innovation. Edison is credited with one of the greatest inventions of the nineteenth century—the
invention of the method of invention – Research & Development. Corporate R&D centers still
leverage many of the principles that Edison developed in his Menlo Park lab.
The event will begin with a book signing by both Caldicott and Israel at 6:00 p.m. followed by a
lecture at 6:30 p.m. with a networking reception to follow. High School students interested in
Math, Science and Technology, MIT Alumnae, the Rutgers community and Edison enthusiasts
are invited to participate in the event at 6:00 p.m. on May 15, 2008 on Busch Campus at the
Allison Road Classroom (ARC) Auditorium, 618 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ. Online
directions to ARC can be found at http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=416. Seating is
limited. To register, visit the MIT Alumnae Association of Princeton website at
http://alumweb.mit.edu/clubs/princeton.
INVENT LIKE EDISON is an initiative Ram Iyers is developing to encourage more students to
consider careers in Math Science and Technology. By highlighting New Jerseys most famous
inventor, students are encouraged to study how Edison used knowledge to drive his success.
Iyers feels that “developing basic skills– a solid grounding in math and science, plus the ability
to integrate concepts from many areas of learning are important for any inventor” and he
concludes that “Success leaves clues!” Iyer is Founder and CEO of Argea in Princeton and holds
graduate degrees from the University of New Hampshire and the MIT Sloan School of
Management. He has written several articles and a book chapter on globalization opportunities
for Mid-market companies and is currently working a book on how globalization affects mid
market companies.
Sarah Miller Caldicott, a great grand niece of Thomas Edison, will present the Five
Competencies of InnovationTM that Edison used to become the most prolific inventor in
American history. Caldicott is 20-year veteran with Pepsico and Unilever. Her new book is
entitled Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America's Greatest Inventor which she
wrote in collaboration with Michael J. Gelb, (best-selling author of How to Think Like Leonardo
da Vinci). Innovate Like Edison is the first book to identify Edison's systematic approach to
innovation, revealing what Sarah calls "Edison's Five Competencies of InnovationTM". Sarah
conducted research for her book using resources developed by The Edison Papers at Rutgers
University, and worked in conjunction with the world's leading expert on Edison today, Dr. Paul
Israel.
Dr. Paul Israel is the director of the Thomas Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University. The
project has spent year analyzing over 5 million pages of notebooks, business and personal
correspondence that Edison generated during his lifetime. Israel’s biography of the inventor,
Edison, A Life of Invention, has won acclaim and is a primary source for any serious research.
Israel, in addition to teaching, can be seen on History Channel and A&E Edison specials. His
most recent presentations include Columbia University and New Jersey Historical Society.
Edison filed the first of his 1,093 successful U.S. patent applications on October 13, 1868 at the
age of 21. Students are encouraged to come and learn more about Edison and his innovations.
Please contact Ram Iyer at ramiyer@alum.mit.edu if you would like to take part in an afternoon
press conference where the authors will be available to answer questions.
###
Contact:
Rachel Weissenburger
Weissenb@rci.rutgers.edu
732/445/8511*10
The Edison Papers
Rutgers University
44 Road 3 – Livingston Campus
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8049
http://edison.rutgers.edu
Ram Iyer
ramiyer@alum.mit.edu
encourage students to investigate careers in Math, Science and Tech.