(Chicago) - Nikola Tesla ( ), the man who discovered the way to

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1 Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C²ST) 10 W. 35 th Street Chicago, IL Erin Dragotto, Managing Director: (312) For Information Contact: Rosalie Harris: Creative Solutions (312) John Ignjatovic: FYM Marketing (773) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 15, 2011 Chicago Council on Science and Technology, in Partnership with Belgrade Committee Chicago Sister Cities International, and Navy Pier, Presents The Genius Spark of Nikola Tesla August 6 August 28 at Navy Pier C²ST Lecture on Life, Work, Innovation Legacies of Famed Serbian-American Inventor August 5 at Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University (Chicago) - Nikola Tesla ( ), the man who discovered the way to effectively, efficiently and economically bring light to the World s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and to homes around the world today, through alternating current, will be the focus of The Genius Spark of Nikola Tesla. The exhibit on the life and work of the brilliant Serbian-American physicist, engineer and inventor will be on Chicago s Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue, from Saturday, August 6, through Sunday, August 28, in Terrace A West Lower Lobby. The exhibit is free and open to the public; daily and

2 2 weekend hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Direct from The Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia, the exhibit is presented by the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C²ST), in partnership with the Belgrade Committee Chicago Sister Cities International. On display will be artifacts from the professional and personal life of Tesla. Outside the exhibit, at the southeast end of Dock Street, Tesla Motors Chicago will be displaying the all-electric Tesla automobile. For information go to Chicago is the first U.S. city to host historic artifacts and information from the Tesla Museum. Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, said, "Chicago's thriving economic, scientific and academic life is built upon the diversity of the people who call this city home. I am honored that the Tesla Museum has recognized our rich culture and our Serbian population by bringing this inspiring exhibit to Navy Pier and allowing Chicago to be the first city in the United States to host the Museum's historic artifacts. Dragan Đilas, Mayor of Belgrade, said, The Genius Spark of Nikola Tesla represents a collaboration between scientists, business people, exhibit designers and other professionals of our two cities. To Serbian men, women and children, the fertile mind, active imagination and abundant accomplishments of Tesla are worth emulating, almost 70 years after his death. By bringing Tesla to Chicago, the Tesla Museum is bringing the man to life for people here. Included in the exhibit are 11 models of Tesla s inventions, including the induction motor, considered one of the most significant discoveries of all time. The director of the Tesla Museum, Vladimir Jelenković, said, We are thrilled to bring this exhibit to Chicago. To the Serbian people, Tesla represents the beauty of the scientific mind and the ability of science to unite people around the globe.

3 3 Navy Pier is honored to be the first U.S. site chosen to display this historic, engaging exhibition, said Marilynn Gardner, Navy Pier President and General Manager. Navy Pier s mission is to provide a wide variety of entertaining, educational and cultural programming that interest guests of all ages and backgrounds. The Tesla exhibition is a wonderful attraction that will add to the experience of visiting Navy Pier. C²ST Lecture for Members and Special Guests On Friday, August 5, the day before the official opening of The Genius Spark of Nikola Tesla, C²ST and the Belgrade Committee Chicago Sister Cities International will sponsor a reception, lectures and an exhibit preview for C²ST members and special guests. The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., beginning with a traditional Serbian welcome reception at Northwestern University s Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago. In his lecture, Director Jelenković will reflect on Tesla s life and work. Leaders in Chicago s science and technology professions then will convene for a panel discussion on innovations in a number of fields. After the panel, complimentary trolley service will be provided to and from Navy Pier for a private tour. Advance registration is required to attend the event. To register, contact Christopher Rhodes at (312) or crhodes@c2st.org. For more information, go to Alan Schriesheim, Ph.D., co-founder and president of C²ST, Milan Mrksich, Ph.D., and Zivojin Pavlovic, M.D., exhibit co-chairs of the Belgrade Committee Chicago Sister Cities International, said, Chicago is the appropriate city to produce an exhibit devoted to Nikola Tesla, and to organize lectures that provide perspective on his life, work and legacy. Chicago is not only at the center of a region that boasts more than 350

4 4 colleges and universities, research institutions, museums, corporations and entrepreneurial organizations that contribute to the study and application of science everyday; in addition, the city also boasts the largest Serbian population outside Serbia. Desko Nikitovic, Serbia s Consul General of Chicago, said, The partnership between Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse is a shining example of how Serbians and Americans have joined together to make a better world. This exhibit is a celebration of the relationship between our countries. C²ST and the Belgrade Committee Established in 2006, C²ST seeks to be the preeminent regional consortium for science- and technology-related education and policy and a prominent voice nationally. Through its public programs C²ST brings together Chicago s scientific leaders academic, corporate, government, museums, universities and national laboratories to provide a forum for the discussion of current issues of scientific interest. Belgrade Committee Sister Cities Chicago International was formed in 2005 as a key member of an organization that builds bridges between the people of Chicago and its international neighbors, to achieve greater mutual understanding and to strengthen the City s civic, economic and cultural ties. Through people-to-people programs and cultural exchanges, Chicago Sister Cities International improves the quality of life for all communities. Nikola Tesla: In Short Information from the Tesla Memorial Society in New York, Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Lika, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He studied at the Realschule, Karlstadt, the Polytechnic

5 5 Institute in Graz, Austria, and the University of Prague. He began his career as an electrical engineer with a telephone company in Budapest in It was there that the elusive solution to the rotating magnetic field flashed through his mind, defining the principle of the induction motor. Tesla joined Continental Edison Company in Paris, where he designed dynamos. While in Strassbourg in 1883, he privately built a prototype of the induction motor and ran it successfully. Unable to interest anyone in Europe in promoting this radical device, Tesla accepted an offer to work for Thomas Edison in New York in It was here that he pointed out the inefficiency of the direct current electrical powerhouses that had been built up and down the Atlantic seaboard. The secret, he felt, lay in the use of alternating current; to him all energies were cyclic. Why not build generators that would send electrical energy along distribution lines, first one way, than another, in multiple waves, using the polyphase principle? Tesla held 40 basic U.S. patents on the polyphase alternating current system. The patents were bought by George Westinghouse, determined to supply America with the Tesla system. Ultimately, Tesla and Westinghouse emerged the victors over Edison and General Electric. Together, they astonished the world by demonstrating the wonders of alternating current electricity at the World s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in Tesla achieved his childhood dream to harness the power of Niagara Falls in 1895, when he designed the first hydroelectric power plant in Niagara Falls. This was the final victory of alternating current, which became standard power in the 20th Century Tesla registered more than 700 worldwide patents in many fields. The Tesla coil, invented in 1891, is widely used today in radios, televisions and other electronic

6 6 equipment. Other discoveries are the induction motor, fluorescent light, laser beam, wireless communications, wireless electrical energy transmission, remote control, robotics, turbines and vertical take-off aircraft. His vision included exploration of solar energy and the power of the sea; he foresaw interplanetary communications and satellites. Tesla s discoveries, inventions and vision had widespread acceptance by the public, the scientific community and the press. His lectures and writings aroused wide admiration among contemporaries, popularized his inventions and inspired young people to enter the new field of radio and electrical science. However, he died penniless on January 7, 1943, in the Hotel New Yorker, where he lived for the last ten years of his life. His ashes are on permanent display at Belgrade s Tesla Museum. Presenting Tesla with the 1916 Edison Medal, Bernard A. Behrend, vicepresident, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, said, "Were we to seize and eliminate from our industrial world the result of Mr. Tesla's work, the wheels of industry would cease to turn, our electric cars and trains would stop, our towns would be dark and our mills would be idle and dead. # # #