Tag: Tesla Science Foundation

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Nikola Tesla Book, Film, and Art Presentations

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Tesla: The Wizard of ElectricityFor those in the Philadelphia/Exton area, there is an upcoming Tesla “Book, Film and Art” event presented by members of the Tesla Science Foundation. The event is hosted by Howard Lipman, a Chester County Author, Radio Host Mark Passio. There will also be presentations by other Tesla Foundation members on “Why Nikola Tesla Matters”, and how Tesla has been an influence in Books, Film and Art.

The event is being held on Sunday, November 3rd from 1:30 to 4:30 pm at the Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway, Exton, PA, 19341. Call 484-888-1582 for more information. Also check out the Tesla Club event page, which notes:

Videos related to Tesla, including Laura Todd, a local Phoenixville electronic composer’s pieces, and other Tesla related visuals will be shown. Members will display some of Tesla’s devices, and Tesla Art will be provided by Zzvezdana Scott, the proprietor of a Kennett Square Art Gallery. There will be a display of books about Tesla.

More information on upcoming Tesla events and speaking engagements.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Tesla Days – Coming to Philadelphia July 6-10

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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and David J. KentOnly a few days left before Tesla Days kicks off in Philadelphia. Join me and the Tesla Science Foundation for inventions, presentations, books, and music, plus a Million Volt March. The four days of events celebrate the July 10th birth of Nikola Tesla and the beginning of “a global breakthrough movement dedicated to building awareness of a new energy paradigm.” Declare your energy independence now.

More information and the daily schedule for July 6th through the 10th can be found on the Tesla Science Foundation website.

Besides the Balkan wine reception and speakers on Sunday, July 7th, I welcome you to join me and other prominent authors and musicians on Tuesday, July 9th for a Tesla Film, Book, and Arts Festival at The Free Library, 1901 Vine St. With events starting at 11:00 am, I’ll be introducing my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. Also speaking will be Tesla authors Marc Seifer, Bernard Carlson, and Howard Lipman; an inspirational talk by Kyle and Julian Driebeek on why children should know and honor Tesla; and a variety of Tesla-inspired electronic music and videos.

I hope you’ll join us.

Order Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity now, exclusively at BarnesandNoble.com, and either as hardcover or Nook ebook.

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Nikola Tesla Wine Reception and Lectures

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Tesla: The Wizard of ElectricityThe annual Tesla Day 2013 in Philadelphia is fast approaching. Besides free events featuring inventions, speakers, music and more, there will be an opening night wine tasting and reception. Follow this link to find out more and sign up:

http://tesladay2013.eventbrite.com/

I’ll be there to introduce my new book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, which is now available exclusively as both a hard cover and Nook ebook on BarnesandNoble.com.

Tesla Days celebrates the life and works of one of the world’s greatest inventors, Nikola Tesla. Tesla Days 2013, will feature live speakers, musical performances and local dignitaries who come together to inform and inspire. The opening night kickoff events include:

WINE RECEPTION  – Join the president of Tesla Science Foundation, its board of trustees, staff and supporters at this intimate wine reception to be held on the second floor of the Ethical Humanist Society. The reception will feature wines by the Balkan Wine Project as well as light hors d’oeuvres. The reception will be attended by our speakers and performers, so you will have a chance to meet our esteemed guests in person.

LECTURES & PERFORMANCES  –  The Tesla Science Foundation introduces the works and ideas of some of the nation’s most innovative thinkers. Enjoy live performances from artists such thereminist Mano Divina and Natalie Page Bentley, and lectures by our esteemed guests: Dr. Milena Bajic, clinical psychologist, Dr. Evan Malone founder of NextFab Studio and TEDx speaker who will be presenting Keeping Innovation at Home, and W. Bernard Carlson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Technical Age.

AWARDS CEREMONY  –  Tesla Science Foundation recognizes the works and inventions of scientists, thinkers and innovators who share their ideas through Tesla Club and Tesla Inventor’s Club.

Sign up for the opening night reception events now. Then go to the Tesla Science Foundation website to check out the other events going on across Philadelphia over four days from July 6 – 9.

I’ll be speaking Tuesday, July 9th at the Tesla Film, Book and Art Festival:

  • Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
  • Free Library of Philadelphia 1901 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA

More information on specific times will be posted on this Science Traveler website and on my Facebook page. Hope to see you there.

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Energy Independence – Tesla Days Events in Philadelphia

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Tesla: Wizard of ElectricityBe a part of history. Join me and the Tesla Science Foundation at a 4-day “celebration of science, ideas and progress” as part of the annual Tesla Days, July 6 – 9+, 2013, in Philadelphia. In addition to a fantastic display of inventions, presentations, and music, the Tesla Science Foundation will sponsor a Million Volt March. Billed as “a global breakthrough movement dedicated to building awareness of a new energy paradigm envisioned by the world’s greatest inventor, Nikola Tesla,” this is your chance to pledge yourself to energy independence.

I’ll be there introducing my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, which will be hot off the presses. Will you join me?

As of this writing there is about one month to go before these two great events coincide – the launch of my book and the great Tesla Days events. Over the next few weeks I’ll be spotlighting both events here on these pages.

The final details are being worked out now for Tesla Days but one thing is clear – it will change the way you see energy! After the Million Volt March there will be a signing of the Declaration of Energy Independence – and with Tesla’s influence, there might even be free energy. Check here for more information on locations, events, and lodging. Note that there are still a few slots available if you can offer a talk on a Tesla-inspired film, book or visual arts project during the Monday and Tuesday of the Festival. Contact Howard Lipman at parisbks@yahoo.com to get on the agenda.

I’ll be speaking at the Festival and will post more details here when the final dates and times are announced. And after waiting for a very long nine months I’ll also have actual physical copies of my book for sale. So come on to Philadelphia, buy a book direct from me, and I’ll even sign it to you. How about that for a deal, eh?

These are exciting times for Tesla and for me. Come back here to Science Traveler over and over during the next month because I’ll be posting tons of new information on the book, how you can get your own copy (hint – Barnes and Noble stores, front display), and speaking engagements where you can come to hear me speak. If you can’t wait until July (and it will be difficult to wait, I know), check out my talk at the Tesla Memorial Conference at the New Yorker Hotel in January (skip to about the 10:50 mark to see me literally trip up the steps to the stage).

I hope to see you in Philly, and back here often during the next few weeks for important details and offers.

More information on the release of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

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A review of TESLA, the off-Broadway play

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Tesla official posterA rainy evening in the East Village welcomed the opening night of the new off-Broadway play, TESLA. All that was missing were bolts of lightning, which would have been appropriate given that Nikola Tesla was born at midnight during a thunder storm. Inside the theater the electricity was as vibrant as the topic of the show. Not a seat was to be found in the packed theater – not even standing room was left available. They were not to be disappointed.

For much of the play there are actually two Nikola Teslas onstage. Jack Dimich plays the older Tesla living out the end of his life in the Hotel New Yorker, ruminating over his inability to offer a particle beam to stop Hitler’s assaults on Yugoslavia. As Tesla chats with bellhop Luka (played by Luka Mijatovic), whom he has enlisted to feed his pigeons, he is joined by his younger self, who relives the glory days of invention. Young Tesla, played enthusiastically by James Lee Taylor, stars throughout as he meets his idol (and then rival) Thomas Edison, cavorts with Mark Twain, sees his dreams come true with the backing of George Westinghouse, and then sees those dreams dashed by J.P. Morgan.

TESLA cast

TESLA cast (Photo by Sam Mason, Tesla Science Foundation)

Alessandro Colla gives spirited performances both as Westinghouse and Twain. Adam Pagdon brings to life J.P. Morgan in a way that makes you both respect and despise the man who financed, then rejected, Tesla’s Wardenclyffe plans. Tom Cappadona is simply stellar as Thomas Edison, the self-made businessman whose investment in direct current leads him to encourage the electrocution of puppies and people to show the dangers of Tesla’s alternating current. Samantha Slater does double duty playing Katherine Johnson, the wife of Tesla’s friend and supporter Robert Underwood Johnson, as well as Mary, Edison’s enthusiastically social-climbing wife.

Despite the seriousness of the storyline, writer Sheri Graubert has expertly woven comic relief into the play. The most appreciated example is the recurring interludes by Guglielmo Marconi, “inventor of the raaadio.” Played magnificently by Jeff Solomon, you could hear the sound of the audience rising to a smile each time Marconi struts onto the stage. His performance was truly a gem. With her ability to switch back and forth between levity and gravity, Graubert has written an excellent play, well played.

Any review of TESLA would be remiss without acknowledging the superb direction of Sanja Bestic. Balancing two Teslas and host of other actors onstage, along with periodic video shots (by Maria Riboli) to set up and emphasize key characters and concepts, could not have been an easy task. Yet Bestic deftly turns the world of the enigmatic inventor into something we can all understand and appreciate.

Overall I was tremendously impressed with the quality of the acting, writing, and direction. The sold out opening night, including the pack of press passes sitting directly in front of me, rose organically and enthusiastically to give the bowing cast a standing ovation. It was well deserved.

TESLA ran through June 8th, 2013 at Theatre 80, St. Mark’s Place, New York. The run was sold out to standing only crowds. It was worth it.

David J. Kent is the author Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World, plus two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His latest book is Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. 

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[Daily Post]

 

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New Page – Tesla Events and Speaking Engagments

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Now that Tesla: Wizard of Electricity is (soon to be) on the shelves, it’s a good time to start tracking various speaking engagements, interviews, and other related events. I expect this will be a living page, that is, will be frequently updated with new events as they arise.

Check out the new page here. And bookmark so you don’t miss an event near you.

Tesla book cover from CB 3-7-13

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Tesla Science Foundation Expands Efforts to Recognize Nikola Tesla’s Contributions

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Nikola TeslaThe Tesla Science Foundation is expanding. Following the success of the most recent Tesla Memorial Conference, which took place on the 70th anniversary of Telsa’s death on January 7, 2013, the Foundation is working with other Tesla groups to recognize Nikola Tesla’s contributions to society. As Nikola Lonchar, President and Founder of the Tesla Science Foundation, recently announced:

Nikola Tesla’s popularity is growing.  Our hard work has helped make that happen. Additionally, our hard work has placed our group in a strong position to do more as the most active Tesla-related group in the country.  With this power comes the responsibility to carry out the mission of the Tesla Science Foundation, the Nikola Tesla Club and Nikola Tesla Inventors Club by facilitating the growth of free and renewable energy.

To accomplish this, the Foundation and its affiliate Tesla Groups have proposed a series of activities to enhance the Tesla name. They include:

  • Consolidation of all of the Tesla groups domains into a single website location called TeslaTalk.tv. A webinar series will provide background on Nikola Tesla, allow interviews of “some of the world’s most knowledgeable scientists and Tesla enthusiasts,” and rebroadcasts of Tesla lectures from around the world.
  • Monthly meetings and lectures at libraries, schools and universities.
  • Development of new Tesla Clubs worldwide.
  • Continue organizing two annual conferences per year in the United States – the January Memorial Conference in the New Yorker Hotel (New York City) and the July Tesla Days celebrations in Philadelphia.
  • A project to restore the Tesla Room in the New Yorker Hotel to its original appearance, including a permanent Tesla display in the hotel.
  • Funding of innovative and promising projects by group members with the goal of promoting the legacy of Nikola Tesla and developing future innovations based on his work.
  • Opening of a Tesla Club building in Philadelphia. The vision is to include an art gallery, book store, library, a “Tesla: Past, Present, Future” display, a coffee/snack shop (featuring Tesla’s favorite foods, of course), and a webinar recording studio and communication center.
  • A traveling exhibit version of the “Tesla: Past, Present, Future.”

I’ll provide more information on each of these goals in future posts so be sure to check back here often. You can search on keywords “Tesla Science Foundation” to get a list of relevant articles.

I’ll also have more on an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that is currently being developed to help make these goals a reality.

More on Tesla: Wizard of Electricity.

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Nikola Tesla Makes a Robot Boat

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Recently I attended the Tesla Memorial Conference held at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Click on these links to read about Day 1, Day 2, and a special presentation by 12-year-old Kyle Driebeek. One of the presentations on Day 2 was by Marko Popovic of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Popovic mentioned that Nikola Tesla developed a remote-controlled boat he called a telautomaton.

In “The Art of Telautomatics,” written as part of his My Inventions autobiography in 1919, Tesla reminds us that he first demonstrated his robotic boat way back in 1898.

Tesla robot remote controlled boat

In order to show how wireless technology could be used to command ships and missiles from a distance, Tesla had a large tank built in the center of Madison Square Garden and “in this places an iron-hulled boat a few feet long, shaped like an arc.” The audience, mostly attendees of the first annual Electrical Exhibition, was requested to ask questions and the automaton would answer them by signs, usually by turning left or right or reversing direction. “This was considered magic at the time,” writes Tesla in My Inventions, “but was extremely simple, for it was myself who gave the replies by means of the device.”

Tesla-PSJul1956

He repeated the exercise with a more advanced and larger telautomatic boat in 1919.

Telsa robotic boat

While Tesla acknowledged that these were “the first and rather crude steps in the evolution of the art of telautomatics,” it did signal the beginning of what today we call robotics. Consider Tesla’s designs then and the remote-controlled drones used in our more recent military and terrorist control efforts and you can see how far he was ahead of his time.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

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12-year-old Kyle Driebeek Inspires the Crowd at Nikola Tesla Conference

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Twelve-year-old Kyle Driebeek first learned about Nikola Tesla when he was only 8 years old. Four years later he is one of the star attractions at the Nikola Tesla Memorial Conference held in New York City January 5-7, 2013. [Day 1 and Day 2] The conference was held on the 70th anniversary of Tesla’s death in the very place that he lived the last 10 years of his life – the New Yorker Hotel. Many luminaries in the field were in attendance including Tesla Science Foundation President Nikola Lonchar, Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe President Jane Alcorn, The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman, and William H. Terbo, the grand-nephew of Nikola Tesla. But Kyle was the real star.

Kyle Driebeek

Amazingly poised and well-spoken for someone so young, Kyle walked up to the microphone and quickly awed the roomful of Nikola Tesla experts. He related how he first came to hear about Tesla on a History Channel program called Modern Marvels. That same year his 3rd Grade class gave him an assignment to study a famous person. Kyle chose Tesla. For his research Kyle and his family came to the New Yorker, stayed in the very room that was Tesla’s, and toured the property with engineer Joe Kinney. He also went out to Long Island and peered at Wardenclyffe through the fence. It would be the first of many visits to the New Yorker and to Wardenclyffe.

His research continued for a 5th Grade class project. In 2011 Kyle attended the Long Island Tesla Conference and got to stand on the octagonal base of the Wardenclyffe tower. He learned to play the Theremin, the electronic instrument played without physical contact. He smiled as the contributions rolled in during Matthew Inman’s crowd-funding efforts in 2012, an effort that raised nearly $1.4 million and has allowed Jane Alcorn’s Tesla Science Center to purchase the Wardenclyffe property to be made into a museum and educational center. And now here he was an invited speaker at the Tesla Memorial Conference. [You can watch Kyle’s presentation beginning at about minute 37:00 in this video.]

Kyle Driebeek was inspired by Nikola Tesla. The attendees at the conference were inspired by Kyle Driebeek. Like Kyle, we all feel that the world needs to know more about Nikola Tesla’s contributions to science. Kyle vows to help spread the word. And after his inspiring presentation, so will we all.

More on Nikola Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

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Day 2 Tesla Memorial Conference – Tesla’s Technical Side

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In my last post I introduced the first day of the Tesla Memorial Conference held January 5-7, 2013 in the New Yorker Hotel. While Day 1 focused primarily on various ongoing projects (e.g., acquisition of Wardenclyffe) and artistic endeavors (e.g., my book and other inspirations), Day 2 focused on Tesla’s technical contributions.

Starting us off was Manoj Shah, the 2012 recipient of the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award, which is given annually to “an individual or team that has made an outstanding contribution to the generation or utilization of electric power.” Dr. Shah is an electrical engineer at GE Global Research. In his presentation he highlighted some of the electrical machines produced by GE and how Tesla’s work influenced their designs.

Manoj Shah

Other speakers included Thomas Valone of Integrity Research Institute discussing electrotherapeutic devices (a little zap a day will do ya), Nicholas Simos of Brookhaven Labs discussing wireless energy transmission, and my personal favorite, Marko Popovic of Worcester Polytechnic Institute discussing Tesla and Robotics. Dr. Popovic reminded us that it was none other than Nikola Tesla who developed what can be considered the first robot, a remote controlled boat he called a telautomaton that he first publicly demonstrated in Madison Square Garden in 1898.

Tesla robot remote controlled boat

Popovic also mentioned another inventor, John Hays Hammond, Jr., who collaborated with Tesla for a while and eventually made a larger remote controlled robotic boat. I mention Hammond briefly here because of a connection I have with him, which I’ll talk about in a later post. For now, here is the slide in which Popovic showed Hammond and his boat.

John Hays Hammond Jr.

Tesla expert and author Marc Seifer then discussed the significance of the later years of the Wardenclyffe, when Tesla had run out of funding and was desperately trying to interest new investors. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful and the Wardenclyffe tower was torn down for scrap to pay off some of Tesla’s debts.

DSC09395

The morning ended with math. Musical math. David Pokrajac explained the technical basis behind a unique musical instrument called the Theremin, which is the world’s first electronic device and the only wireless instrument. The performer, in this case Mano Divina, “captures electricity in mid-air and bends it with his hands to sing Opera,” all without touching the instrument at all.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fthKn4F4sdc&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]

The day continued with demonstrations of Tesla coils, wireless energy transmissions, gyroscopes, a few sparks and much more, all of which can be seen on the video recordings kindly provided by Kevin Wood Media. After closing remarks many attended a memorial service for Nikola Tesla and celebrated the Serbian Orthodox Christmas at St. Sava, a nearby Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. Meanwhile, I hopped a train back to DC (work beckons). Before I left I took this photo of the plaque honoring Nikola Tesla on the side of the New Yorker Hotel, where he lived the last ten years of his life.

Tesla plaque New Yorker Hotel

Many thanks to the Tesla Science Foundation, especially to Nikola Lonchar and Marina Schwabic, for organizing a wonderful conference. I was proud to have contributed my small part and enjoyed the conference and attendees immensely.

More on Nikola Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

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