Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 9, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 7 ally-impactful Worcester invention was artist Harvey Ball's smiley face, created in 1963 as an employee morale effort for State Mutual Life Assurance Co. e city has invented enough items of note to take up a whole wall of exhibit space in the Muse- um of Worcester, which highlights everything from fashion to weap- ons of war. But lists of notable inventions from Central Mass. hit a bit of a lull aer the 1960s. is lines up with a time where changing global economic trends wreaked havoc on Worcester's manufacturing companies, said Jon Weaver, president and CEO of Worces- ter-based incubator Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives. Rising from the ashes of the decima- tion, MBI was formed in 1984. "e city had gone through three decades of disinvestment aer global- ization really decimated our manufac- turing sector," Weaver said. "Decade by decade since, we've innovated, we've overcome, and MBI is part of that story." MBI now spearheads efforts to inject more life sciences startups into the Central Mass. economy. is includes antibody drug discovery platform Bio- cytogen, which has raised $335 million; veterinary therapeutics firm Invetx, which was acquired for $520 million in 2024; and Convergent Dental, which raised $115 million and developed a CO2 laser used for anesthesia-free den- tal procedures, according to MBI. Since MBI's founding, Worcester's startup scene has grown to include incubators like Auxilium and e Ven- ture Forum, as well as angel investor network Wire Group. Cutting-edge firms like SpadXTech, which leverages microbes to grow materials to replace plastics, and Loop C02, which converts carbon dioxide into adhesives, have ties to MBI. "We're on the verge of a really major shi in the way we do manufacturing across the globe, and the lessons that we've learned in biology are now open- ing up a new what we call the American bioindustrial revolution," Weaver said. Finding the next Goddard Today, the next generation of phys- ic-related inventors and entrepreneurs at Clark University can turn to Professor Agosta for mentorship. An expert in low-temperature ex- perimental physics, Agosta co-founded Machflow Energy, a company develop- ing a high-tech heat pump to address climate change. Growing up, Agosta said Goddard served as a role model, as his father helped build rocket engines for NASA during the space race. "Every time we had a rocket launch in this country, everyone was watching TV and listening to Walter Cronkite," Agos- ta said. "at was an important part of everyone's childhood in the 60s." Like Goddard, Agosta occasionally heads from Worcester to New Mexico to conduct his experiments in a safer environment: the Los Alamos National Laboratory. "We use high voltages, and the magnets create incredible forces, and they have the possibility of blowing up," he said. "Luckily, we have these old buildings with foot-and-a-half thick brick walls. We have all sorts of layers of safety, but it's definitely a field we have to have some guts. Every once in a while, something goes wrong, and there's a huge noise, and everyone gets a little shaken." Like children of the 1960s, who faced the persistent threat of nuclear war, the next generation of inventors surely have plenty of social issues to stress over, Agosta said. "A lot of the way I mentor is by exam- ple," he said. "I'm not hiding anything when we're trying to get experiments done in one of these national labora- tories. We're using millions of dollars of equipment, millions of dollars of people's time. We don't want to waste anyone's time, and we don't want to not get results, and then they can sort of see the intensity and the focus and how to get things done." W Birth control pills are our favorite invention March 16 will mark 100 years since the day Robert Goddard, a Worcester native, launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Shot off from a field in Auburn, Goddard's invention laid the groundwork for the Space Age, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and NASA. Goddard's rocket isn't the only revolutionary item to come out of Central Massachusetts; the region is home to a number of internationally-recognized inventions still used today. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said birth control pills are their favorite Central Massachusetts invention. What is your favorite Central Massachusetts invention? 37% Birth control pills 22% Liquid-fueled rocket 19% Smiley face 6% Other 6% Tupperware 6% Monkey wrench 5% Valentine's Day cards LAUNCHING INNOVATION: F O C U S CENTRAL MASS. VISIONARIES Robert Goddard 100th anniversary events A number of events are in the works to honor the 100th anniversay of Robert Goddard's historic rocket launch on March 16, 1926. Full details can be found on the First Launch Centennial website. Event Location Date Robert Goddard Exhibit VIP Event Museum of Worcester March 12 Visitor reception Worcester EcoTarium March 15 Searchlights: "From Here to the Stars" Multiple searchlights pointing skyward from near Goddard's historic launch site in Auburn March 15-17 Launch site event Pakachoag Golf Course, Auburn March 16 Robert Goddard Exhibit public opening Museum of Worcester March 16 Goddard House Tours One Tallawanda Dr., Worcester March 17-21 Campus presentations Clark University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute March 17-21 Goddard Celebration The Hanover Theatre & Conservatory for the Performing Arts, Worcester March 22 Source: FirstLaunchCentennial.org Jon Weaver, MBI president and CEO MBI has expanded its life sciences incubator space at its Briden Street location. PHOTO | COURTESY OF MBI

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