Opinion innovation and the bell labs miracle the new york. Apr 15, 2015 included in that purchase is bell labs, the famed new jersey research facility. Bell labs is a research and scientific development company that belongs to alcatellucent. This article, the third of a threepart series, is adapted from his new book, the idea factory. Bell labs partners with universities around the world to create the next generation of researchers. A smaller bell labs remains today, but as a division of the telecommunication manufacturer, alcatellucent. Bell labs showed how sustained innovation could occur when people with a variety of talents were brought together, preferably in close physical proximity where they could have frequent meetings. Bell labs has generated more than 28,000 patents since 1925 and has played a pivotal role in inventing or perfecting key communications technologies. The music video bell labs didnt invent the music video. About work, shop, play inspired real estate in monmouth, nj. One type of innovation creates a handful of jobs and modest revenues. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. How bell labs created the future in the idea factory.
Feb 26, 2012 still, bell labs policy was not to turn them away. Take a tour and see how since its inception bell labs has continued to lead and shape communication and technology innovation in areas such as connecting the world, information management, understanding the universe and advancing. Take a tour and see how since its inception bell labs has continued to lead and shape communication and technology innovation in areas such as connecting the world, information. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation jon gertner the penguin press. The book gives an insight into one of the most innovative periods in human history when most of what we call the modern world was invented by the scientists and inventors at bell labs. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation jon gertner the. I dont know about you, but really, i had no sense of the impact bell labs had on our current society. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation is a 2012 book by jon gertner that describes the history of bell labs, the research and. Beginning his career with bell labs in 1972, oshea spent almost 30 years in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sales of information systems.
Join our team to access a global network of expertise. Mar 27, 2012 this article, the third of a threepart series, is adapted from his new book, the idea factory. The book follows the particular example of bell labs, which at its peak. The first transatlantic telephone cable, which relied on innovations from bell labs, is deployed. Jan 24, 2016 bell labs was a wonderful place to work for half a century. However, we are still discovering how to tap the potential of some of the research developed 50 years ago. The technology showcase is a permanent exhibit celebrating bell labs spirit of innovation and scientific excellence. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation, published this month by penguin press.
Bell manufactures the most complete line of rodent control products for the professional pest control and agricultural markets. Mar 20, 2012 indeed, bell labs was behind many of the innovations that have come to define modern life, including the transistor the building block of all digital products, the laser, the silicon solar cell. Gertner goes on to explain that the bell labs environment was an incubator of innovation and offers a narrative documenting many of the. Bell labs functioned in a world not ours, he quotes john pierce as saying near the end of the book. The book covers bell labs seminal work on multiplexing, information theory, transistors, lasers, fiber optics, communications satellites, the cosmic microwave background, and mobile phone networks, among other things. Gertner goes on to explain that the bell labs environment was an incubator of innovation and offers a narrative. The idea factory is a fascinating book for anyone interesting in the process of innovation. Opinion innovation and the bell labs miracle the new. With headquarters located in murray hill, new jersey, the company operates several laboratories in the united states and around the world. Madison, wi 53704 16082410202 phone 16082419631 fax email bell. It would take a massive multivolume history to cover everything that bell labs did, so the author concentrates on on the period between the 1930s and the 1970s, and follows some the the key players and their research through that period. We engage the best and brightest minds to solve problems that dont yet exist. Chaucer house, chaucer road sudbury, suffolk co10 1ln united kingdom email bell uk. Mar 23, 2012 bell labs, however, had the advantage of necessity.
Bill oshea was the tenth president of bell labs, and lucent technologies chief technology officer. But they did invent or discover an astonishing number of other things. In the opening sentence of the idea factory, jon gertner states, this is a book about the origins of modern communication as seen through the adventures of several men who spent their careers working at bell labs p. The lesson of bell labs is that most feats of sustained innovation. Bell innovations does gifts with a personal touch through laser engraving. It was founded on the belief that the most attractive way for a regulated monopoly to increase profits was to lower their operating costs. Bell labs and innovation the organisation of genius. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation. More than just the fascinating story of the amazing innovations and colorful innovators of bell labs, the idea factory gives incredible insight into the ways in which bell labs not only invented the future but invented new ways of invention. Throughout much of the twentieth century, holmdels bell labs building served as a research facility for more than 6,000 workers. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation the penguin press.
There was another element necessary to mervin kellys innovation strategy, an element as crucial, or more crucial even, than all the others. A guided tour of bell labs technology showcase nokia blog. Inside the egghead circus at bell labs slate magazine. Welcome to bell laboratories, the world leader in rodent control technology an exclusive manufacturer of rodent control products, bell laboratories produces the highest quality rodenticides and other rodent control products available to the pest control and agricultural industries on six continents. Jun 02, 2002 a smaller bell labs remains today, but as a division of the telecommunication manufacturer, alcatellucent. Bell labs, the historic birthplace of worldchanging. Included in that purchase is bell labs, the famed new jersey research facility. Bell labs was hugely important to innovation in the 20th century. Gertners book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a. If bell labs is a tree, research is a blossom, development is the fruit. Bell labs, however, had the advantage of necessity.
Voices of innovation paperback october 31, 2011 by a michael noll author, michael geselowitz author. The book could equally well be subtitled the invention of the modern. Some of these incredible technologies included transistors, fiber. In kellys view, the members of the technical staff had the great advantage of working to improve a telephone system where there were always problems, always needs. Bell labs, as the article points out, delivered many of the innovations that made modern devices possible. Bell labs and the great age of american innovation kindle edition by gertner, jon. This collection of short films highlights the brilliant minds who created the invisible nervous system of our society, a fantastic intelligent network undergirding every aspect of modern life. Even more, though, this book is about innovationabout how it. Why bell labs was so important to innovation in the 20th. Whether the 21st century will produce another bell labs remains to be seen. A history of bell laboratories and its technological innovations. Jon gertners the idea factory and what obama could learn from bell labs. Why bell labs was so important to innovation in the.
Bell labs technical journal januarymarch 2000 3 bell labs innovations in recent decades bell labs innovations. With approximately 16,000 employees in 16 countries, bell labs is the leading source of new communications technologies. Indeed, bell labs was behind many of the innovations that have come to define modern life, including the transistor the building block of. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the idea factory.
Jon gertner tells the story of bell labs and its farreaching advances in technology. The books talks in length about inventions like the telephone, transistor, optic fibre etc and how they came into being. From transistors to telstar, idea factory traces bell labs. The idea factory, by jon gertner the new york times. Jon gertners book is the story of the rise, growth, and eventual winding down of bell labs, one of the greatest research institutions of all times. Its headquarters are located in murray hill, new jersey, in addition to other laboratories around the rest of the united states and in other countries.
Voices of innovation, a published book collecting memoirs bell utilizes pcm multiplexing bell telephone laboratories, inc. Bell labs is responsible for some of the most monumental innovations that impact the way in which we work and live today. Its the birthplace of worldchanging innovationsamong them the. The definitive history of americas greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th centurys most influential. Bell labs enables direct distance dialing, which allows customers to dial longdistance calls within the united states without operator assistance. He was responsible for research and development across all of lucent. The author shows how bell labs served as an incubator for scientific innovation from the 1920s through the 1980s. What bell labs taught us about innovation innovation. Its the birthplace of worldchanging innovationsamong them the transistor, cellular phones, solar cells, and. This is one of the greatest books ive ever read about innovation. Jan 03, 2019 bell labs showed how sustained innovation could occur when people with a variety of talents were brought together, preferably in close physical proximity where they could have frequent meetings.
Bell labs conducted a substantial amount of innovative scientific research and development in the pre and postwwii era. In 2007, a year after the merger alcatels research and innovations organization was merged with bell labs innovations. Ive had a chance to learn about bell labs via jon gertners new book, the idea factory. Bell labs combined the best aspects of the academic and corporate worlds, hiring the brightest and usually the youngest minds, creating a culture and even an architecture that forced employees in different fields to work together, in virtually complete intellectual freedom, with little pressure to create moneymaking innovations. Kelly and his colleagues at bell labs repeatedly sought, creates millions of jobs and a longlasting. Jul 19, 2017 bell labs was hugely important to innovation in the 20th century. Leaner, it occupies a portion of the murray hill facility and continues the tradition of invention and discovery.