LABORATORY SERIES. No.03. Skunk Works hanger in Palmdale, CA. Founded by Kelly Johnson in 1943 under the motto “quick, quiet, quality,” Skunk Works is the official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program (ADP). The secret research-cum-development facility developed a working model that granted small teams space to work in undisclosed locations, with relative autonomy from corporate bureaucracy and standard procedures. The rules of engagement are outlined by Kelly in “14 Rules and Practices.” Today, the term Skunk Works has become synonymous with the “space of innovation” coopted by corporate tech giants. Photo: Wikipedia.
LABORATORY SERIES. No.10. Iron Lung Ward at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center during the 1952 Polio epidemic. The Iron Lung was developed as a temporary respiratory aid for polio patients unable to breathe on their own. Subjects, primarily young children, were confined to the airtight chamber from the neck down. Acting as an artificial lung, the apparatus created a negative pressure environment around the subject’s torso allowing the patient’s lungs to expand and contract. Photo: Wikipedia.
