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Sarnoff Collection Opens on October 2

Sarnoff Collection Opens on October 2

On October 2, TCNJ opened a major exhibition that explores the state’s pioneering contributions to the electronics industry.  Innovations That Changed the World traces the history of telecommunications from the invention of radio to the dawn of information age using objects drawn from TCNJ’s David Sarnoff Collection. This world-class assemblage of artifacts, named after the chairman of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), was housed at that company’s research laboratory in Princeton before being donated to the College in 2010. It contains over 6,000 objects showcasing the ingenuity of RCA scientists and engineers, including the first color television picture tube, the first commercially available electron microscope, and early examples of magnetic core computer memories, thin film transistors, and liquid crystal displays.

Innovations That Changed the World allows TCNJ students and faculty, visitors, researchers, and local school groups to engage with over eighty artifacts from the Sarnoff Collection, as well as dozens of vintage photographs, letters, and advertisements. In addition to a biographical display highlighting David Sarnoff’s remarkable rise from impoverished immigrant to industrial innovator, the exhibition is divided into nine sections, each highlighting a different technology developed by RCA—radio, the phonograph, black-and-white television, color television, electron microscopy, computing, integrated circuits, home video, and flat panel displays. Visitors will not only learn about the scientific principles behind these technologies but also the social and historical contexts into which they were introduced.

The exhibition was curated by Dr. Benjamin Gross of the Chemical Heritage Foundation and Emily Croll, Director of TCNJ’s Art Gallery and Sarnoff Collection, in collaboration with a committee of TCNJ faculty, staff, and consultants. Committee members include Dr. Robert Anderson, Christopher Ault, Dr. James Beyers, Dr. Benny Chan, Dr. Anthony S. Deese, Dr. Brian Girard, Dr. Orlando Hernandez, David Jurkin, Dr. Allen Katz, Richard Kroth, Dr. John C. Laughton, Dr. Alexander Magoun, Dr. John McCarty, Dr. Steve O’Brian, Dr. John Pollock, and William Rudeau

Innovations That Changed the World is open to the public free of charge on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 5:00, on Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00, and by appointment for groups and school visits. The exhibition is located on the second floor of Roscoe West Hall. For a map with parking and building locations, please click here. For more information or questions, contact sarnoff@tcnj.edu.

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