We first published a young innovators list 20 years ago. Today, many of those we have selected over the years, such as Andrew Ng, Helen Greiner, Feng Zhang, and Julie Shah, are leaders in their fields. And two decades later, many of these distinguished scientists, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, and businesspeople still list the honor of being selected prominently on their bios.
So who are we looking for? We’re looking for people doing interesting work with software, nanomaterials, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, computing, energy, electronics, and the internet. But most of all, we’re looking for people capable of changing the world for the better.
What we’re most interested in seeing is a specific achievement. We like to be able to answer questions like: What’s the innovation here? What did this person achieve that hasn’t been done before in quite this way? How is this person working toward solving a major technology problem that could make a huge difference in people’s lives?
Some candidates come from the world’s elite research universities or top corporations. But many don’t. We’re also looking for inventors, startup founders, social activists using technology in novel and creative ways to make a difference in their communities.
We have no idea who’ll end up on our 2020 list, because it’s not in our hands. That’s up to you.
