Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century

Thesis: Ph. D. in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society (HASTS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Science, Technology and Society, 2014.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Spero, Ellan Fae
Other Authors: Anne McCants.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90081
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author Spero, Ellan Fae
author2 Anne McCants.
author_facet Anne McCants.
Spero, Ellan Fae
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description Thesis: Ph. D. in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society (HASTS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Science, Technology and Society, 2014.
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spelling mit-1721.1/900812019-04-10T13:41:14Z Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century Emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century Spero, Ellan Fae Anne McCants. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Science, Technology and Society. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Science, Technology and Society. Program in Science, Technology and Society. Thesis: Ph. D. in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society (HASTS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Science, Technology and Society, 2014. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 157-162). Early 20th century America is a critical context for understanding industrial innovation. Departing from a focus on innovation itself as manifested through the creation of new products and consumer opportunities, this project focuses instead on an important infrastructure for innovation - academic-industrial cooperation. Its particular emphasis is on the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Mellon Institute, an independent nonprofit entity devoted to the promotion of industrial research, contributed not only through its novel scientific work, but also through its efforts aimed at engaging broad audiences through popular writing. As a competing model, this dissertation also examines interdisciplinary laboratories and administrative structures at MIT to argue that these schemes for academic-industrial cooperation that began as an informal series of ad hoc arrangements between researchers and corporate partners were increasingly formalized and centralized into a unique educational model that combined fundamental science and industrially relevant research. Rarely used archival materials are drawn on to argue that "narratives of progress," shared stories and rhetoric that were conceived for, and deployed in the service of, a particular idea of creating a better world through the enterprise of science were essential components of institutional and industrial change. Mechanisms for academic-industrial cooperation, no matter how well organized or funded, could not stand alone without a foundational narrative to give them broader purpose and context. Building on an institutional approach and employing a novel analysis of narrative as text, the built environment, and exhibit, this study offers new perspective on sites of academic-industrial cooperation as institutes for innovation. by Ellan F. Spero. Ph. D. in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society (HASTS) 2014-09-19T21:38:36Z 2014-09-19T21:38:36Z 2014 2014 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90081 890142024 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 162 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Program in Science, Technology and Society.
Spero, Ellan Fae
Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title_full Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title_fullStr Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title_full_unstemmed Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title_short Institutes for innovation : the emergence of academic-industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
title_sort institutes for innovation the emergence of academic industrial cooperation and narratives of progress in the early 20th century
topic Program in Science, Technology and Society.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90081
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