In the U.S., the mention of the Hall of Fame usually causes one to think of athletes. However, the Inventure Place has recently opened in Akron, Ohio and it houses The National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Hall's mission is to honor American inventiveness. The building is a $38 million, five-floor glass and steel museum. The Inventure Place expects attendance of about 350,000 a year.
The building features hands-on exhibits that will allow kids, as well as 'grown up kids,' to invent and build all sorts of things. Staff scientists will roam the exhibits, working with visitors to 'invent' at more than 30 stations. The intent is "to teach kids to 'play science' the way they play sports."
A number of inventors in catalysis and 'near catalysis areas' have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first to represent catalysis in the Hall were Charles J. Plank and Edward J. Rosinski. They were elected in 1979 for U.S. Patent No. 3,140,249 for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons with a crystalline zeolite catalyst composite. In 1984 William Burton was elected for developing the first commercially successful process for cracking crude oil into gasoline and other products (Patent No. 1,049,667). While the Burton process was not a catalytic process, its success provided the cornerstone for a long era where petroleum processing was the major force behind the development of catalysis. Burton was also recognized for demonstrating the value of laboratory research and experimental studies.
Eugene Houdry was inducted in 1990 for his process for the manufacture of liquid fuels (U.S. Patent No. 1,837,963). A year earlier, Irving Langmuir was inducted,