Arthur Molella

Dr. Arthur Molella is Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. He was the founding Director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. He received his PhD in history from Cornell University. He enjoyed a long curatorial and administrative career at the Smithsonian. He headed such Smithsonian exhibitions as Science in American Life, Nobel Voices, and, most recently, Places of Invention. He is also Senior Lecturer in the Department of History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests center on relationships between science, technology and culture. He has published and lectured internationally on museum exhibitions, strategies, and controversies, as well as on technology and invention. Recent books include Invented Edens: Techno-Cities of the 20th Century, Places of Invention, World’s Fairs on the Eve of War: Science, Technology, and Modernity, World’s Fairs in the Cold War: Science, Technology, and the Culture of Progress. He is on the Executive Advisory Board of the National Academy of Inventors. He also served for a decade on the National Advisory Council of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College.