Usage conditions may apply for digital images, video, and sound recordings linked within SOVA collections. While digital content may be restricted, SOVA collection descriptions and catalog records are available CC0 for re-use. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Gadil Ashok Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.0647
- Creators:
-
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.Gadgil, AshokBerger, Sondra
- Dates:
-
1998 January 161998 April 281996 - 1996
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
0.5 Cubic feet5 boxes
- Repository:
Original, master, and reference videos documenting an Innovative Lives presentation and interview with Ashok Gadgil, inventor of the UV Waterworks disinfectant unit.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection contains original, master, and reference videos, and audio cassettes documenting Ashok Gadgil, inventor of the UV Waterworks, a water purifier.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is divided into four series.
Series 1: Original videos, 1998
Series 2: Master Videos, 1998
Series 3: Reference Videos, 1998
Series 4: Photographs and Slides, 1998
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Ashok Gadgil, was born in India and is a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Gadgil invented the UV Waterworks, a water purifier that provided reliable, inexpensive water disinfection for the world. The UV Waterworks uses ultraviolet light to kill waterborne pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and molds) and thus purify drinking water. The key to this invention is the effect ultraviolet light has on bacteria and viruses--it triggers the formation of peptide bonds between certain nucleic acids in the pathogens' DNA molecules, which robs them of the ability to reproduce and renders them harmless. Water, powered by gravity, flows down through pipes, passing into a tray where it is exposed to twelve seconds of ultraviolet light before it flows out a spigot. Gadgil used sheet metal, UV lamps, and stainless-steel piping to create this invention.
Administration
Author
Alison Oswald
Custodial History
The collection was transferred from the Lemelson Center to the Archives Center on June 2, 1998.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This video presentation and interview was created by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on April 28, 1998.
Separated Materials
UV Water Works Disinfectant unit is located in the Division of Medicine and Science. See accession #: 1998.0158.01.
Existence and Location of Copies
Original videos digitized in 2014. See repository for details.
Processing Information
Processed by Alison Oswald, 2006.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Ashok Gadgil Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Keywords
Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
---|---|---|---|
Water -- Bacteriology | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Videotapes -- 1990-2000 | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Water -- Ultraviolet treatment | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Water -- Purification | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Oral history -- 1990-2000 | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Interviews -- 1980-2000 | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Ultraviolet radiation | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Physicists | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. | Corporate Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu