Sixteen innovation pioneers will be honored as part of the 50th class of National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees. In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the hall of fame will honor these winners in a ceremony in October. 
The hall is in Alexandria, Virginia. 

The October event is not only the “Greatest Celebration of American Innovation,” it will also mark the hall’s 50th anniversary. Fifty years ago the first honoree was Thomas Edison. 

Two members of the hall’s Class of 2023 have Minnesota ties. The late Cyril and Louis Keller played key roles in launching the compact equipment industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s with their invention of the world’s first compact loader, which became the Bobcat skid-steer loader. What the Kellers likely didn’t expect at the time was that their invention would be used by some farmers, ranchers and tradespeople with disabilities as a unique combination work and mobility device. 

Other honorees worked on a wide range of items, including medical devices, gene-editing systems, wheelchair technology and the COVID-19 vaccines. For biographies of each inductee, visit https://www.invent.org/inductees/new-inductees.