Most Influential Living Scientist

[natekarle]

I came across an interesting comment/question posed in the "Humans In Science" blog (www.scienceboard.net), which I've reproduced below. I thought it might be interesting to see peoples' reactions.

Influential scientists

When my mom’s cousin’s husband saw me recently, he mentioned how he was positively in love with Lisa Randall, physicist extraordinaire, on the basis of a complimentary article that had appeared about her in the Guardian.

What makes me smile is that this article styles her as “one of the most influential living scientists.” Well, that’s debatable, isn’t it? She seems like a fantastic person and brilliant and all that, but can I entice y’all out of the lurker’s woodwork to cite some of your “most influential living scientists"? (Besides, what does that word influential mean? Influencing whom? Colleagues in the field? Lay people?)

Here’s a few of mine (in biology): Rita Levi-Montalcini. Doug Melton. Bob Horvitz. Jim Watson.
Also, there’s definitely some national bias; in France, it would be Axel Kahn for sure.

If it’s influencing me, personally, as well as scores of other young women, let me cite Nicole Le Douarin, Jane Barker and Barbara Beltz.

To comment, the blog can be found here: http://humans.scienceboard.net/arch...18/65/#comments

[Tormod]

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[rockytriton]

I guess that Stephen Hawking would probably be up there in the list. I'm pretty sure that he's still alive, but this reviewer of his book (audio book version) doesn't think so:

"I had to post this review because I read a review that is sadly critical of the "computer voice." This voice that you said audible shouldn't be allowed to offer, my wise friend, is the voice of the late, great Professor Hawking himself. He died of ALS. Many years before his death, the disease robbed him of the ability to speak without the help of a speech synthesizer. While the resultant voice may not be easy to listen to, I have always considered it an honor to be able to listen to Hawking's "voice." And the book is brilliant!"

I believe that he's still alive though.