At Technology Review, selecting the TR35–our annual list of leading young innovators–always produces equal parts excitement and frustration. Selecting just 35 men and women, all under the age of 35, from a pool of more than 300 outstanding nomi­nees is always difficult, but learning of the remarkable technologies they’ve invented and discoveries they’ve made so early in their careers is awe inspiring. We select the TR35 on the basis of their accomplishments as researchers, inventors, or entrepreneurs. To help evaluate the importance and impact of these accomplishments, we rely on our panel of experts (click here for a list of this year’s judges).

This year’s group of innovators is transforming everything from the cars we drive to the way we use computers, treat heart attacks, and manage our e-mail. Several are working on ways to conserve and more efficiently produce energy, others to help us collaborate and connect; still others are taking advantage of the body’s capacity to heal itself. As they fight disease, global warming, and the complexity of life in the 21st century, the TR35 aspire to truly improve the world.

Click here for a complete list of the 2008 TR35.