Cornell innovations that changed the way we travel and chill out

By AAD Staff February 18, 2025

Innovations from Cornell students, faculty, researchers, and alumni have transformed our world and how we experience it, every day. Here are some of the inventions and people who shaped the way we travel, cool off, and jam out.

A new way to experience travel

Civil engineer Olive Wetzel Dennis, 1921 transformed the way passengers experience the American railway. Although she was first hired to design bridges for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), she eventually became the first “service engineer” in the U.S., making her responsible for engineering the passenger travel experience.

Her impact: Dennis integrated numerous amenities into passenger cars, many of which are used today in and beyond the railways. Partially reclining seats, dimmable ceiling lights, individual window vents—which she patented—and air conditioning are some of the amenities that changed the way passengers travel.

Dive deeper: The ‘Lady Engineer’ Who Took the Pain Out of the Train (Atlas Obscura)

Inventor highlight: Meredith Gourdine ’53

Olympic silver medalist and former Guggenheim fellow Meredith Gourdine invented and patented various electrostatic precipitator systems, allowing airports to remove fog from runways. Gourdine, a serial inventor with more than 30 patents in his lifetime, also developed the Focus Flow Heat Sink, a technology for cooling computer chips.

Meredith Gourdine ’53 gives a lecture in the 1960s. Photo: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

Gourdine (second from right) with three others in a laboratory in 1962. Photo: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

Gourdine, who served the university as a trustee, in conversation in the 1960s. Photo: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

Cornell track and field Olympians, 1952 (left to right): Charles Moore ’51, Meredith “Flash” Gourdine ’53, and Walter Ashbaugh ’51 Photo: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

Air conditioning

Willis Carrier, 1901 invented the air conditioner, a device that dramatically transformed the way people live and work all around the world.

The first modern air-conditioning system made it possible to control the temperature and humidity of printing press warehouses. This innovation improved working conditions and addressed environmental conditions hindering the printing process.

Its impact: The technology was adopted to address other opportunities and challenges. It made it safer to transport food, medicines, and other perishables. Air conditioning also gave healthcare facilities cleaner air, and it inspired improvements to critical innovations like infant incubators. Carrier’s invention even reshaped maps by making hot and humid climates more liveable.

Dive deeper: Early Cornell Engineering Alumni Inventors: Willis Haviland Carrier

Moog Synthesizer

Invented by Robert Moog PhD ’65, the Moog Synthesizer is the world’s first commercial electronic musical instrument.

Its impact: The Moog Synthesizer revolutionized modern music, allowing artists and composers to create new sounds and sonic textures. It brought the world memorable and culturally significant songs and albums from musicians across numerous genres—from The Beatles to Donna Summer to The Beastie Boys and many, many more.