Geodesic dome Zeiss plant in Jena, Germany. A larger dome, called "The Wonder of Jena", opened to the public in July 1926. Some 20 years later, R. Buckminster Fuller named the dome "geodesic" from field experiments with artist Kenneth Snelson at Black Mountain College in 1948 and 1949. Although Fuller was not the original inventor, he is credited with the U.S. popularization of the idea for which he received U.S. patent 2,682,235 29 June 1954. The geodesic dome appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight, its "omnitriangulated" surface provided an inherently stable structure, and because a sphere encloses
ASM Headquarters and Geodesic Dome dome geometry, he was divested of all interest in Synergetics, Inc. before this dome was conceived. The geodesic dome was designed by Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina, the owner of Synergetics, Inc. and designer of many geodesic domes such as Climatron Conservatory at Missouri Botanical Gardens, the Union Tank Car Company dome (now demolished) in Baton Rouge, LA, and Poliedro de Caracas in Venezuela. Fuller's role was limited to licensing the use of his patent. In a 2010 essay, Stan Theobald, retired ASM managing director (2002-2012), recalls that the dome engineers were from the College