The SN 10: Meet the scientists ready to transform their fields

Earlier this year, General Electric asked a brilliant question: What if scientist Mildred Dresselhaus was treated like a celebrity? The idea, aired as a TV commercial, had many of us smiling at the possibility. In the ad, fans stop the nanoscience pioneer in the street to take selfies, a young girl receives a Dresselhaus doll as a birthday gift and a student sends a Millie emoji after acing a physics exam. The ad debuted in February during the Academy Awards telecast, just weeks before Dresselhaus passed away at age 86.

She lived an accomplished life. It’s nice to know the public got to hear about her, even if so late in her life. In reality, few women or, for that matter, men in science are well known outside of their own research circles — and certainly not well enough to appear on billboards or celebrity talk shows.

In the spirit of introducing the world to more innovators, and doing it early in their careers (maybe even in preparation for the next Oscar-worthy commercial), Science News presents its SN 10 for 2017. For the third year, we are spotlighting the work of 10 early- and mid-career scientists, age 40 and under, who stand out to mentors and peers as people who will make a difference.

Some of the researchers profiled here, nominated by Nobel laureates and recently elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, are motivated by the desire to ease the human condition. They want to feed the growing world population, boost our reliance on renewable energy or reduce the burden of global disease. One molecular anthropologist is revisiting the past, while an astronomer has his eyes pointed skyward, to find habitable worlds outside the solar system.

These scientists have been called creative, curious and fearless. They share a willingness to question existing knowledge and forge new paths that is reminiscent of Dresselhaus’ approach to research. Sounds like a winning strategy.  — Cori Vanchieri

Meet the SN 10

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