The 2004 Scientific American 50 List of Winners

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Research Leaders
RESEARCH LEADER OF THE YEAR: Deborah S. Jin

AEROSPACE: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
AGRICULTURE: Joseph Ecker
AUTOMOTIVE: L. Craig Davis
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING: Miguel A. L. Nicolelis
CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS: Joseph Poon and Gary J. Shiflet
COMMUNICATIONS: Neil Gershenfeld
COMPUTING: Mario Paniccia
DEFENSE: Thomas G. Thundat and Jesse Adams
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Jack Keller
ENVIRONMENT: Gavin A. Schmidt and Drew T. Shindell
ENERGY: Lanny D. Schmidt
IMAGING: Daniel Rugar
MANUFACTURING: Micha Asscher
MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS: Francis Barany
MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY: Peter G. Schultz
MEDICAL TREATMENT: Nina Bhardwaj
NANOTECHNOLOGY: Ehud Shapiro
PUBLIC HEALTH: Richard J. Webby
ROBOTICS: Jos¿ del R. Mill¿n

Business Leaders
BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR: Peter Cartwright

AGRICULTURE: MetaMorphix
AUTOMOTIVE: Nissan North America
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING: Optobionics Corporation
CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS: Beng Ong
COMMUNICATIONS: British Telecom Wholesale
COMPUTING: MagiQ Technologies
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Rising Data Solutions
ENERGY: MTI Micro Fuel Cells and Toshiba
ENVIRONMENT: Jeneil Biosurfactant
IMAGING: Camero
MANUFACTURING: GlycoFi
MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS: Intelligent Medical Devices
MEDICAL TREATMENT: Vertex Pharmaceuticals
PUBLIC HEALTH: Institute for OneWorld Health
NANOTECHNOLOGY: Nantero

Policy Leaders
POLICY LEADER OF THE YEAR: Douglas A. Melton


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AGRICULTURE: Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
AEROSPACE: Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge
AUTOMOTIVE: State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA)/Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO)
COMPUTING: R. Michael Alvarez and Ted Selker
COMMUNICATIONS: Andrew Jay Schwartzman
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: M. S. Swaminathan
ENVIRONMENT: James D. Watkins and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
ENERGY: Walt Patterson
MANUFACTURING: Social Accountability International
MEDICAL TREATMENT: Nancy Reagan
NANOTECHNOLOGY: Mihail "Mike" Roco
PUBLIC HEALTH: Polly F. Harrison
ROBOTICS: Anthony J. Tether

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