Research

Invention in Action

With the perspectives of a public historian and curatorial and engagement practitioner, I dive deep into the narratives we’ve been hearing for two centuries. The book American Bridge will explore the reinvention of building as a founding act of nineteenth-century industrialization and nation-building. Both are inextricably bound to evolutionist and nationalist narratives that continue to shape our understandings of technology, landscape, and ourselves.

The lattice, known as an “American bridge,” startled innovators around the globe. Designed for the industrial age, the lattice sparked an exchange of ideas that made possible the explosive growth of transportation networks. It inspired nineteenth-century technologists to transform traditional construction processes and enabled extraordinarily long and tall structures.

American Bridge will tell a landmark tale of technological creativity as it reveals the origins of elements that support our world: the beam, the truss, and the skeleton frame. The book will provide for the first time a coherent view of the network of inventors who developed the strategies, structures, and analytical techniques that culminated in world-renowned icons such as the Eiffel Tower.

To be published in early 2025 by MIT Press / Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Smithsonian Institution.

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