Oral & video history documentation

The Lemelson Center's oral and video history projects increase historical documentation on invention and innovation in the United States.
Above: Guitarist G.E. Smith is featured in the Electric Guitar Video Documentation Project. Smithsonian photo by Jeff Tinsley.

Full descriptions of the following collections may be found by searching the archives and manuscripts section of SIRIS, the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Unless otherwise noted, all collections are housed in the NMAH Archives Center. For further information, contact the Archives Center Reference Desk.

Oral & video history documentation is listed in alphabetical order by subject of interview. Date of interview is in parentheses.

Subhendu Guha, inventor of flexible solar roofing shingles (1998) Guha discusses his work in the use of semi-conductors to convert sunlight into electricity (photovoltaics) in an “Innovative Lives” program with students from Ormond Stone Middle School in Centreville, Va.; the Smith Middle School in Troy, Mich.; the Porter Middle School in Missoula, Mont.; and the Webster Middle School in Webster, Texas. Guha, born in Calcutta, joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, where he investigated certain properties of semi-conductors. He became interested in photovoltaics and concentrated on amorphous silicon, an element found in sand that can be applied as a thin film to produce a photovoltaic material. Guha ultimately produced a photovoltaic panel that is seven feet long and a foot wide, is lightweight, flexible, rugged, durable, and is easy to install with conventional roof panels. The flexible solar shingle is manufactured by United Solar Systems Corporation. 0.5 cu. ft.: 3 boxes containing original, master, and reference videos. See related article »