On June 15th, Public Invention held its first in-real-life event since the pandemic in the Austin Public Library. We held a “demo day” demonstrating a lot of our physical inventions, and some software demos thrown in. Overall, it was a success, though the turnout was disappointing: we only met about 20 people that we had […]
The Public Invention Demo Day and Fundraiser Read More »
We’ve published our annual report for 2024 in PDF form.
Public Invention Annual Report for 2024 Published Read More »
Postdoc Bridge Funding Initiative (PBFI) – Robert L. Read, PhD, Public Invention, April 2025 Note: This work is now obsolete; it was a prelude to a workshop. The project has evolved, we suggest you look here. In early 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF)’s normal funding processes were disrupted.
Postdoc Bridge Funding Initiative (PBFI) Read More »
Scenario: The Head Invention Coach is Incapacitated In 2024, the President is Robert L. Read, who is also the Founder and Head Invention Coach, and the only Public Inventor working full time (although he is unpaid). If he were incapacitated, it would seriously harm the viability of Public Invention. However, the board would still have
Public Invention Continuity Plan (2024) Read More »
Out of a pressing need I discovered as a volunteer for Engineers Without Borders USA, Public Invention has been working on a portable incubator for several years now. We recently got a great new volunteer, Melanie LaPorte, who is being invention coached by Forrest “Lee” Erickson. We’ve create our first crowdfunding campaign to raise money
Please Support our Portable Incubator Project at Experiment.com Read More »
Public Invention has raised $37,000 for a project run by Glia of Canada to make a completely open source desktop injection molded tourniquet, most immediately for Ukraine but usable by anyone. I’m proud of Glia and our support for them, and want to report a little on what they have done. One of our requirements
Progress for the Glia Tourniquet Project Read More »
Public Invention has defined over 75 project ideas. Some of these have been gifted to us by readers like you who are willing to donate an idea to the whole world by publishing it; many were thought of by myself. Some ideas are very well-developed, others are just a paragraph. One of the better ideas
Project #73: Ferrofluid Pump with Only Fluid Moving Parts Read More »
Invention is not exactly the same as engineering, but both require problem solving and innovation. Public Invention is proud to assist Glia, a Canadian firm, in its “Stop the Bleed” project making an open-source tourniquet for the terrible conflict in Ukraine. Not being a first responder, I only recently learned how important these devices are,
Glia builds tourniquets for Ukraine and Public Invention Helps Read More »
When I began Public Invention six years ago on my 50th birthday, I wanted to create a movement. Creating the non-profit also called Public Invention was a tool for doing that, but I always imagined it would be much smaller than a global movement to create open source hardware inventions by “Inventing in the public,
Our Deepest Need: Invention Coaches Read More »
I recently read the Global Open Science Hardware Roadmap published by the Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH). It lays out a real program for promoting Open Science Hardware (that is, roughly speaking, lab equipment and field instruments.) I strongly support it, and have signed the manifesto petition. As it states, if we can make
Comments on the Global Open Science Hardware Roadmap Read More »
