discover.html

DISCOVER Vol. 21 No. 10 (October 2000)

Twenty Scientists to Watch in the Next 20 Years
The Discover 20.
By William Speed Weed

Some of them disassembled cars and televisions when they were children. Others chased grasshoppers or grew orchids. One studied molds from her mom's leftover coffee. Each grew up to be recognized as an intellectual wunderkind early on. The average age of these accomplished scientists is only 33, which is more like 18 for a baseball player or 25 for a business CEO.

Far more than CEOs and sports stars, each of these individuals will likely change our fundamental understanding of the world and our place in it. Whether it's physicist Hideo Mabuchi's discoveries about the interface between quantum mechanics and everyday life or conservation biologist Gretchen Daily's rigorous assessments of ecosystems and economics, these young scientists probing the frontiers of knowledge have already shown the promise— or the work— that makes senior scientists applaud in awe.

Discover surveyed almost 1,000 researchers to find these scientists, asking for nominations of persons under 40 in the United States who have demonstrated once-in-a-generation insight. The response left us optimistic. The talent pool is vast. We could have listed 60 scientists without compromising the quality of the group.

The 20 we did choose are already glowing stars in their respective fields. We expect each of them to shine only brighter as they move through the next 20 years and light the paths to scientific enlightenment.

Plant Wizard Growing up in a Colorado farming community, Daphne Preuss took every opportunity to escape from the work. She was too busy tracking grasshoppers through the surrounding plains or poring over biographies of famous inventors. She still remembers reading of Thomas Edison— about his "invention factory" and how he tested thousands of filament fibers before coming up with a workable lightbulb— and the lessons she took from his efforts: Be imaginative, practical, and persistent. Now she has invented something remarkable of her own. In a daring feat uniting biology and technology, the 37-year-old professor of molecular genetics at the University of Chicago has created entirely new plant chromosomes. While current genetic engineering relies on inserting single genes into natural chromosomes, Preuss is aiming to place multiple genes into artificial chromosomes. Instead of inscribing a single word into a plant's encyclopedia of genetic information, she hopes to compose her own separate volume. In a university lab the first crop of plants from her tinkering are growing each day, and Preuss watches to see what specific properties each will deliver. Within 20 years, she predicts, scientists will be able to construct artificial chromosomes to create plants that not only resist insects, fungi, and droughts— as they do already— but that also make vitamins, pharmaceuticals, and biodegradable plastics.