This collection contains original videos documenting Chuck Hoberman, inventor the Hoberman Sphere.
Scope and Contents note:
Original videotapes documenting Chuck Hoberman, inventor of expandable geodesic domes and spheres. Hoberman invented the Hoberman Sphere, Iris Dome, and a collapsible frisbee, tent and briefcase.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Original Videos
Series 2: Reference Videos
Series 3: Photographs and Slides
Biographical/Historical note:
Chuck Hoberman was born in 1956 and attended Brown University and holds a B.F.A. from Cooper Union and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. He also holds four patents on ways to pleat sheets (of metal, plastic, or paper), and two patents on truss structures (structures that are based on series of triangles joined together). Hoberman has built expandable geodesic domes and spheres, including a motorized geodesic sphere that expands from 4.5 feet in diameter to 18 feet in diameter. Another dome, the "Iris Dome," could be used for emergency shelters and portable exhibition spaces. He named the dome after the iris of an eye, which also expands and contracts proportionally. Besides the Iris Sphere and a small toy called the Hoberman Sphere, Chuck Hoberman has invented a collapsible frisbee, a collapsible tent, and a collapsible briefcase. Hoberman combines aesthetics (the art of making things look pleasing to the eye) with engineering with problem-solving. His intriguing creations, based on both basic geometry and complex mathematics, solve problems or offer opportunities in the real world. In 1990, he founded his own company, called Hoberman Associates, Inc.
Provenance:
This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on May 8, 1996. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Signed copies of release on file.
This collection consists of twenty-nine cubic feet of the papers of John A. O'Keefe, mostly relating to his study of tektites. The following types of material are included: correspondence, publications by O'Keefe and various authors, photographs, slides, notes, and reports.
Biographical / Historical:
John A. O'Keefe (1916-2001) was a pioneer in space geodesy and planetary physics, but his passion was his longtime study of tektites. O'Keefe graduated from Harvard University in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in astronomy and received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1941. During World War II, O'Keefe was with the US Army Corps of Engineers, where he spent 13 years heading the research and analysis branch. During his time with the Corps, O'Keefe made significant contributions to geodesy, including his development of the present NATO map coordinate system (UTM) and his initiative to use satellite tracking for geodesy. In 1958, O'Keefe left the Army Map Service to become the assistant chief of the theoretical division at NASA's newly formed Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. At Goddard, O'Keefe spent the remainder of this career focusing on the study of tektites and the origin of the moon. O'Keefe authored the book, Tektites and Their Origin (1976), in which he presents his belief that tektites were ejected from volcanoes on the moon.
Provenance:
Martha O'Keefe, Gift, 2002
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
