Innovative Lives: Doug DeAngelis

In conjunction with the recently opened exhibition “Change Your Game/Cambia tu juego,” the museum’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation will present a conversation with Doug DeAngelis, runner and inventor-entrepreneur behind the FinishLynx photo-finish camera.

In 1990, at age 24, DeAngelis sought to improve the photo finish cameras that were popular in the 1980s and sketched out a two-page idea for what he called a “digital “Accutrack.” Instead of capturing finish-line images on Polaroid film, his concept would capture and timestamp digital images of the finish line and store them on a computer. In 1992, DeAngelis became the founder, president and chief technology officer of Lynx Systems Developers, which today provides photo-finish cameras and timing solutions for the Olympic Trials, Kentucky Derby, NASCAR, and the Tour de France.

Host or Publisher Smithsonian's Lemelson Center