James Falk (born May 1, 1954) is a research scientist, conceptual engineer, technological artist, inventor and U.S Patent consultant. His invention of the Groundstar style of

Plasma globe A plasma ball, plasma globe, or plasma lamp is a clear glass container filled with noble gases, usually a mixture of neon, krypton, and xenon, that has a high-voltage electrode in the center of the container. When voltage is applied, a plasma (p ...

was commercialized and marketed to collectors and science museums in the 1970s and 1980s. His techno-art was marketed through major retail catalog chains & stores such as

The Sharper Image Sharper Image is an American brand that offers consumers home electronics, air purifiers, gifts, and other lifestyle products through its website, catalog, and third-party retailers. The brand is owned by ThreeSixty Group, with the U.S. catalog a ...

. In 2001 he became chief executive officer of EFX, an art and technology corporation specializing in technology commercialization, scientific research and development and performing arts center design. Centerpiece experiential art and technology at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

(

SpectroMagic SpectroMagic was a nighttime parade presented in Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was introduced in 1991 as part of the park's 20th-anniversary celebrations, replacing the Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade originally ran ...

), EPCOT, The

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

Tsukuba Science City is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

and New York City's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

(

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1948 in Washington, D.C.; its first store was built in April 1948, with i ...

) (

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's Theater District, New York, theater district, on 52nd Street (Manhattan), West 52nd Street in Manhattan ...

) are widely recognized contributions from his EFX Invention Laboratory in New Jersey. He is a Gold Clio Award team member. In 1994 he was a conceptual engineering consultant assisting

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in the translation of artistic, sculptural and engineering agendas for ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' on

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

. He was a member of

Ann Hould-Ward Ann Hould-Ward (born April 8, 1954, in Glasgow, Montana)Biography and credits
filmreferen ...

's 1994

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

team for ''

''. The

Illuminating Engineering Society The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), is an industry-backed, not-for-profit, learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mission is "to improve the lighted environment by bringing together thos ...

awarded him the Edwin F. Guth Award of Excellence, the Lumen Award and the Lumen Award of Merit. He has been a

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...

Project Mentor for the

Toshiba Corporation is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

and the

National Science Teachers Association The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), founded in 1944 (as the National Science Teachers Association) and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is an association of science teachers in the United States and is the largest organization ...

Exploravision ExploraVision is a scientific national contest held in the United States and Canada, a joint project by Toshiba Corporation and the National Science Teachers Association. Designed for K–12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels, Expl ...

national scientific contest held in the United States and Canada, Sears Craftsman and

Young Inventors Program and the Student Patent Program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, James Living people 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors American installation artists 1954 births