Doing DaVinci : Discovery Channel

Necessity is the Mother of invention, but people get their inspiration from other places, too. This week, Discovery Tech looks at the people and the places that turn inspiration into innovation. Explore this week's Wide Angle: Invention Engines.

• IM Interview: Ways of the Master Inventor
  Each year, IBM asks a small group of employees to join the ranks of Master Inventor. To date This elite group of people invents and mentor others to invent. Tracy Staedter chats with Andy Standfor-Clark, one such person.

• News: Crowd Sourcing Taps the Masses for Ideas
  Tapping the world's wisdom, in the place of traditional research and development, is the job of InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin.

• Blog: Inventors Wanted
  This week your trusty tech team is taking on invention. From Leonardo da Vinci to modern-day master inventors, there's plenty of inspiration to go around ... especially if you're thinking about the greater good. While searching for invention engines that help turn smart ideas into reality, I came across several particularly cool catalysts.

• Top 10: Unsung Inventions
  You use these items every day. Some are for entertainment; others have saved your life. But you never give them a second thought. See what you take for granted every day.

• Top 10: Accidental Inventions
  Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favors the prepared mind." That's the genius behind all these accidental inventions - the scientists were prepared. They did their science on the brink and were able to see the magic in a mistake, setback, or coincidence.

• Slide Show: Da Vinci's Inventions
  Leonardo da Vinci was famously fascinated with translating nature's inventiveness into human technology. See sketches and prototypes of machines and devices he imagined.