Tennessee is the home to a number of inventors, one of them–David Crosthwait–was responsible for a number of advances in air conditioning and heating.
Following his time in university, David Crosthwait would begin working for the C.A. Dunham Company in 1913.
These include a thermostat and several related innovations, a steam heating system, a vacuum heating system, and a refrigeration system.
Towards the end of his career, David Crosthwait wrote for a number of publications in regards to his work.
He remaining in the field and became the first Black fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers two years later.