Who is the most important scientist of this decade?

Question

And please explain your choice.

Actual sciences only, not "christian science" "naturopathic scientists" or some garbage.

note: I should say who looks to be the most promising scientist of the decade.

Answer 1

I am a science teacher, and a pretty damn literate one at that. I keep up with the field.
I would be suspect of any answer anyone gives. It's awfully tough to see now what's so great. A whole lot easier to look back after 20 or 40 years and see who the key players were. A perfect example of that is Barbara McClintock. She did her genetics work on maize in the 50's as a graduate student. The elegance of her work and its influence was recognized in the late 1980's as being worthy of the Nobel Prize. At the time, though, no one saw its significance. The Polymerase Chain Reaction is crucial to most of what we do with DNA and forensics today. It was elegantly simple and a wonderful invention as a process. But for a few years no one understood its significance but its creator. 12 years later, now we do.
We might know next decade who the most important scientists of this decade are. But history leads me to doubt that. It might be the decade after or the decade after that. Or maybe a century from now. We just can't tell.

Answer 2

Any scientist that challenges the scientific status quote, rationally.

This decade?
-> Maybe Stephen Wolfram and his cellular automata models.
-> Warren Buffet for espousing the science of investment (he has it down to a science)

Past?
-> Linus Pauling, for the discovery that vitamin C fights disease and cancer.
->Pons and Flieshman for discovering cold fusion (which was recently reconfirmed by UCLA, and Renesslaer)
->Yang and Lee, 1957 Nobel for Parity Laws, proving the existence of free energy
->Feynmann who challenged the status quo with electrodynamics, but did it without being ostracised

Most scientists today fear losing their govt funding, so must tow the party line. Which is kind of sad.

Answer 3

I would say Hawking. He has brought science to the common person. He has been publicized so much that even those not familiar with his work recognize him. His opinions are respected by both scientists and laymen.

Answer 4

Edward Whitten, he makes all other physics experts seem primitive by comparrison.Ask one.