Railroad Pioneer Is the Latest Alum in the Inventors Hall of Fame

The organization is headquartered in Ohio but runs a museum in Alexandria, VA.

Of the hall’s more than 600 inductees, 26 have Big Red ties—as alumni, faculty, postdocs, visiting researchers, and others. 

The latest to be inducted: Olive Wetzel Dennis 1920, a member of the hall's Class of 2026.

One of the first women to earn a civil engineering degree at Cornell, Dennis already held a BA from Goucher College and a master's in math and astronomy from Columbia when she matriculated on the Hill.

Eric Betzig, PhD ’88

High-resolution microscopy

A doctoral alum in applied physics, Betzig co-invented a super-high-resolution imaging technology called photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM). It broke the limits that standard microscopes had faced for almost a century, allowing biologists to look inside cells at a previously unachievable level of detail. A professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Betzig shared a 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry with two other researchers.

Harry Coover, PhD ’44

Superglue

Working as a research chemist for Eastman Kodak during World War II, Coover tried to use cyanoacrylates—a class of chemicals with powerful adhesive properties—to produce a clear plastic for precision gunsights.

While the chemicals were too sticky for that purpose, he recognized their potential as an ultra-strong adhesive. Today, Superglue is used to close wounds, enhance fingerprints, bond teeth, and much more.

Leroy Grumman 1916

Advances in aviation

Grumman’s 1932 invention of folding airplane wings allowed the military to more than double the number of aircraft that could fit on a carrier. The mechanical engineering alum and former U.S. Navy pilot also designed retractable landing gear that was safer and more reliable than previous equipment. He founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., which grew to be one of the nation’s largest defense contractors, and served as a University trustee.

Pamela Marrone ’78

Safer pesticides

A scientist and entrepreneur who holds a doctorate from North Carolina State, the former CALS entomology major has devoted her career to fostering the creation of biologically based pesticides—ones that protect agricultural crops while being less toxic to the environment.

Based in California, she has founded several companies and brought numerous products to market, including two leading bio-based fungicides.

Robert Moog, PhD ’65

Musical synthesizer

Six decades ago, Moog—then a doctoral student in engineering physics—electrified the music world by inventing a synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of electronic sounds. It unlocked endless possibilities, making way for a revolution in the music industry—and new directions for such artists as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead. His Moog Synthesizer became the centerpiece of electronic music labs at universities around the world—while instrumentalists flocked to a smaller, portable version known as the Minimoog.

Alice Stoll, MS ’48

Fire-resistant fabrics

Stoll helped protect the military, fire fighters, race car drivers, and many others by informing the development of fabrics that are inherently fire resistant—which, she proved, are far more effective than ones that are merely treated with flame retardant.

She established a method to chart the heat levels and duration required to produce second-degree burn injuries and tested more than 200 materials using a device she created to measure their heat resistance.