Inventor Nikola Tesla was one of greatest geniuses and biggest underdogs of the modern age.
While Thomas Edison is credited with being the inventor of the
light bulb, it is Tesla’s alternating current that today powers much of
the world. Likewise, while Guglielmo Marconi is popularly credited
with inventing the radio, Tesla’s work was instrumental in its
development. In fact, the Supreme Court overturned Marconi’s patent in
1943, crediting Tesla with being the first to patent radio technology.
Tesla's life was full of great highs and disappointing lows. His
inventions made him wealthy and popular, but over time he lost his fame
and fortune and died alone in a New York City hotel room, impoverished
and in debt. Now a new generation is rediscovering Tesla and is
working to make sure his contributions to society are not forgotten.
In this hour-long webinar, a panel of Tesla experts will discuss his turbulent life, his inventions and his legacy.
Join us February 20 at 12 noon EST for an extraordinary look into the electrifying world of Nikola Tesla!
Our panel of experts include:
Author Marc Seifer, whose biography, Wizard: The Life & Times of Nikola Tesla,
portrays Tesla as the principal architect of the modern age. He
explores the struggles Tesla faced to get credit for his inventions and
how a man with great vision ended up impoverished and all but
forgotten. Seifer's presentation will look at Tesla the man and what
drove him to invent, the qualities that made him a great scientist, and
his most influential inventions.
Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center,
a not-for-profit organization that is converting Tesla’s lab at
Wardenclyffe in Shoreham, NY, into a center for science education and
research. Alcorn has been instrumental in the successful crowdfunding effort
to raise funds to restore and preserve the lab for future generations.
Alcorn will update us on the work under way at Wardenclyffe.
And Joe DiPrima, artist and founding member of ArcAttack—
a performance group that uses Tesla coils to make music. ArcAttack has
wowed audiences with their sparking coils and lightning conducting
stunt man. They've collaborated with magician-illusionist David Blaine on an endurance challenge and were featured on the TV show "America's Got Talent."
The group not only entertains but educates the public on the science
behind Tesla's coils. DiPrima will introduce us to ArcAttack and
demonstrate how they use the coils to make music.
Submit questions via Twitter at #AAASwebinar
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