Journalist Jon Gertner explains the origins and unique capabilities of Bell Laboratories, AT&T’s vaunted R&D organization. The work at the labs led to many of the most revolutionary technologies of the 20th Century, including the transistor, the laser, digital communications, the solar cell, and communications satellites.

Gertner will talk about why Bell Labs was able to be so innovative, what went on inside this remarkable organization, and how its engineers and scientists organized and conducted their work.