

Granville T. Woods
Woods was an inventor who held more than 60 patents in the U.S. He was self-taught, he concentrated most of his work on trains and streetcars. One of his notable inventions was a device he called the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph, a variation of induction telegraph which relied on ambient static electricity from existing telegraph lines to send messages between train stations and moving trains. He also invented the Galvanic battery, which are typically used as a source of electrical power, and today we use these batteries daily.
Granville’s studies and inventions resemble the motivations of the students in Engineering and Robotics in the Arts & Manufacturing Academy. The Engineering & Robotics Program is a certified Project Lead the Way pre-engineering program. Project Lead The Way Inc. (PLTW) is a national program forming partnerships among Public Schools, Higher Education Institutions and the Private Sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering technologists. The program introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering enabling them to develop logical thought processes and a broad technical knowledge base. The exploration of various technology systems and manufacturing processes helps students learn how engineers and technicians use math, science and technology in an engineering problem solving process to benefit people.
