Giving Societies

Established in 2019, The Edison Club is named in honor of America’s greatest inventor, pioneer of innovation, and member of ASME, Thomas Alva Edison. Comprised of ASME members who provide unrestricted gift dollars of $250 or more during a single fiscal year to the ASME Foundation.

The Alexander Holley Society was established in 2011 in honor of Alexander Lyman Holley (1832–1882), a mechanical engineer who helped found ASME and revolutionized steel production in the United States. It recognizes the leadership of individuals who make an annual commitment of $1,000 or more to the ASME Foundation.

Inventor and engineer Lewis Howard Latimer was born to parents who had fled slavery. Latimer learned the art of mechanical drawing while working at a patent firm. Over the course of his career as a draftsman, Latimer worked closely with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, in addition to designing his own inventions.

One of the first female engineers, Lillian Moller Gilbreth worked with her husband, Frank, to invent ‘time and motion study,’ analyzing ways to make industrial processes, office tasks, and housework more efficient, reduce human error, and enhance the safety and satisfaction of workers. Gilbreth became the first female engineering professor at Purdue University. In 1965, Gilbreth was the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

James Watt was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen’s 1712 Newcomen steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.

Known for several engineering and business firsts including: first female member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, first female president of a national bank, first woman appointed as the receiver of a bankrupt company and first female member of the American Concrete Institute. She was the first woman to be admitted to study engineering at Cornell University.

George Westinghouse is best known for inventing an air brake system that made railroads safer and promoting alternating current technology, which revolutionized the world’s light and power industries. George Westinghouse was one of the most prolific inventors and businessmen of the Industrial Revolution. After serving in the Union Army and Navy, he patented several devices, particularly for railroads. He would eventually start the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company to improve alternating current (AC) power generators.