Arizona’s desert has been a proving ground for big ideas. Count down five tech firsts from the Grand Canyon State — from a record-setting dam and Biosphere 2 to the first public taxis with no one at the wheel — plus two bonus picks you won’t see coming.
#5: Theodore Roosevelt Dam (Roosevelt, 1911)
A huge stone dam that stores water for the Phoenix area. It was finished in 1911 on the Salt River. It was the first big federal reclamation dam completed. It was the largest masonry dam in the world for its time.
#4: GoDaddy (Phoenix, 1997)
A company that registers website names and hosts websites. Bob Parsons founded it in Phoenix in 1997. It helped everyday people claim their own .com name. It began as Jomax Technologies, named for a Phoenix road.
#3: Artificial heart bridge (Tucson, 1985)
A mechanical heart that keeps a patient alive until transplant. In Tucson in 1985, Michael Drummond got one as a stopgap. Nine days later he received a human heart. He lived nearly five more years with his new heart.
#2: Biosphere 2 (Oracle, 1991)
The largest sealed living world ever built — under glass. It was built near Oracle, north of Tucson, from 1987 to 1991. Eight people lived sealed inside for two years. Giant “lungs” let the air swell and shrink with the heat.
#1: Driverless taxi service (Chandler, 2020)
Ride-hail cars that drive themselves — no one at the wheel. Waymo began testing driverless minivans in Chandler in 2017. 2020: the first public rides with no safety driver. The first robotaxis were plug-in hybrid minivans.
Bonus Picks From Arizona
Spin-cast telescope mirrors (Tucson, 1984). In Tucson, giant telescope mirrors are cast under a stadium. Roger Angel’s spinning oven curves the melted glass. He started out by melting custard cups in a backyard kiln.
Sewage-cooled power plant (Tonopah, 1986). Palo Verde, near Tonopah, began making power in 1986. It’s the only big nuclear plant not near a large body of water. Instead it cools with treated sewage from nearby cities.
Tech From Every State
This is part of my Tech From Every State series: the top tech inventions and firsts from each of the 50 states, told with simple animations. Watch the whole series on YouTube and subscribe to The Tech Ranch so you don’t miss your state.
Did we miss something invented in Arizona? Tell me in the YouTube comments — and give the video a thumbs up if you learned something.
