Lanny Smoot, Disney Research Fellow and Imagineer has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame! Lanny is the genius behind incredible special effects such as making Madame Leota float inside the Haunted Mansion and the state-of-the-art Star Wars lightsabers.
Lanny holds more than 100 patents, a staggering milestone that is not often achieved by many inventors. He created 74 patents during his 25-year career at Disney.
The inductee Class of 2024 was announced by The National Inventors Hall of Fame, The ceremony was held at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Glendale California campus this week.
Among those in attendance were kids who participated in Camp Invention (run by the National Inventors Hall of Fame) and participants of one of the local FIRST Robotics teams mentored by Disney Imagineers. Wednesday, Jan. 17, was also National Kid Inventors’ Day, and a special opportunity to continue to inspire the next generation of inventors.
Lanny is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this prestigious honor, and only the second individual from The Walt Disney Company to be inducted – the first being Walt Disney himself, honored posthumously for the multiplane camera.
Surprised that Lanny Smoot is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this recognition?