The Economist claims to have been founded to take part in "a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing progress". As such, each year, The Economist recognises individuals who have proved their talent in their respective fields. This year"s judging panel includes notables like Tim O"Reilly and persons from organisations at the front of the technological field; the awards were presented in San Francisco on the 14th September.
Bio-Science : David Goeddel - for work with gene cloning and the expression of human proteins.
Communications : Vic Hayes - for work as founder of the IEEE 802.11 working group, and his efforts with WIFI.
Computing : Linus Torvalds - for extensive work on the Linux operating system.
Energy : Takeshi Uchiyamada - for work on the Toyota Prius (a hybrid fuel car).
"No Boundaries" : Gerd Binnig, Heinrich Rohrer, Christoph Gerber - for work with IBM on scanning-tunnelling microscopes (STM).
Social and Economic Innovation : Muhammad Yunus - for work in banks in 3rd world countries; masterminded the idea of "micro-credit".