James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago, Ill., on April 6th, 1928, as the only son of James D. Watson, a businessman, and Jean Mitchell. His father’s ancestors were original of English descent and had lived in the midwest for several generations. His mother’s father was a Scottish-born tailor married to a daughter of Irish immigrants who arrived in the United States about 1840.&nbsp;
Young Watson’s entire boyhood was spent in Chicago, where he attended for eight years Horace Mann Grammar School and South Shore High School for two years. He then received a tuition scholarship to the University of Chicago and entered their experimental four-year college in the summer of 1943.
In 1947, he received a B.Sc. degree in Zoology. During these years, his boyhood interest in bird-watching had matured into a serious desire to learn genetics. This became possible when he received a Fellowship for graduate study in Zoology at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he received his Ph.D. degree in Zoology in 1950. At Indiana, he was deeply influenced by the geneticists H. J. Muller and T. M. Sonneborn and by S. E. Luria, the Italian-born microbiologist then on Indiana’s Bacteriology Department staff. Watson’s Ph.D. thesis, done under Luria’s able guidance, was a study of the effect of hard X-rays on bacteriophage multiplication.
From September 1950 to September 1951, he spent his first postdoctoral year in Copenhagen as a Merck Fellow of the National Research Council. Part of the year was spent with the biochemist Herman Kalckar and the remainder with the microbiologist Ole Maaløe. Again he worked with bacterial viruses, attempting to study the fate of the DNA of infecting virus particles.&nbsp;
During the spring of 1951, he went with Kalckar to the Zoological Station at Naples. There at a Symposium late in May, he met Maurice Wilkins and saw for the first time the X-ray diffraction pattern of crystalline DNA. This greatly stimulated him to change the direction of his research toward the structural chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins. Fortunately, this proved possible when Luria arranged with John Kendrew in early August 1951 for him to work at the Cavendish Laboratory, where he started work in early October 1951.
He soon met Crick and discovered their common interest in solving the DNA structure. They thought it should be possible to correctly guess its structure, given both the experimental evidence at King’s College plus a careful examination of the possible stereochemical configurations of polynucleotide chains. Their first serious effort was unsatisfactory in the late fall of 1951. Their second effort, based upon more experimental evidence and a better appreciation of the nucleic acid literature, resulted, early in March 1953, in the proposal of the complementary double-helical configuration.

James

Sam Harris is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, and author. He is the founder and CEO of Project Reason, a non-profit organization that promotes science and secularism. Harris is known for his critiques of religious faith and his promotion of scientific rationality and secular humanism. He has written several books, including "The End of Faith," "Letter to a Christian Nation," "The Moral Landscape," "Free Will," and "Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion." Harris is also a frequent speaker and commentator on neuroscience, philosophy, and religion issues.
Sam Harris hosts a podcast called "Making Sense," produced by his non-profit organization, Project Reason. The podcast features Harris having in-depth conversations with various guests, including scientists, scholars, authors, and other public figures. Topics of discussion on the podcast include science, philosophy, politics, and current events. The podcast is released weekly, and episodes can be found on various platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. The podcast has been running since 2013 and has been well-received by listeners for its in-depth and thought-provoking conversations.
Harris has written extensively on neuroscience and its implications for understanding the nature of consciousness, free will, and morality. In addition, he is known for his work on the neural basis of belief and emotion and his critiques of traditional religious and spiritual beliefs.
Project Reason is a non-profit organization that promotes scientific understanding and critical thinking on issues related to religion, morality, and politics. It provides a forum for open and rational discussion of these topics and works to combat the influence of dogmatism and superstition in public life. Some of the activities of Project Reason include public lectures, debates, discussions with experts in various fields, and the production of multimedia content such as podcasts, videos, and articles. Harris' organization also provides educational resources and materials for educators and students.

Chris Anderson is the Head of TED, a non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas through short, powerful talks. He is also the founder of TEDx, a program that allows communities and organizations to host TED-like events.
Anderson has been involved with TED since 2001 and took over as Head of TED in 2002. Under his leadership, TED has grown into a global phenomenon, with talks being viewed by millions of people in more than 100 languages. He has also been instrumental in expanding the reach of TED by making the words available for free online and by launching the TEDx program.
In addition to his work with TED, Anderson is also an entrepreneur and author. He is the founder of several successful companies. In addition, he has written several books, including "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More" and "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking."
Anderson is a firm believer in the power of ideas to change the world, and he has dedicated his career to promoting this idea through TED. He is a charismatic and dynamic speaker and has been praised for his ability to bring together diverse groups of people to share their thoughts and inspire change.
Anderson is also known for his innovative approach to curation, which has helped to make TED one of the most respected and widely-watched platforms for ideas. He has a keen eye for identifying new and emerging trends and is always looking for ways to bring fresh perspectives and voices to the TED stage.
He has also been a champion of using technology to democratize knowledge and ideas, making them more accessible to people worldwide. In addition, he has been an early adopter of new technologies, such as online video and social media, to help spread TED's message and reach new audiences.
Various organizations and publications have also recognized Anderson's work with TED. He has been honored with numerous awards for his contributions to the field of communications and education and has been named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.
In addition to his role at TED, Anderson is a sought-after speaker and advisor and has been invited to speak at conferences and events worldwide. In addition, he is a regular contributor to various publications, where he shares his insights on the future of technology, business, and culture.
Overall, Chris Anderson is a respected leader and a thought leader in the field of ideas and education, and he continues to inspire and innovate in his role as Head of TED. His work has helped make TED one of the most critical and influential platforms for sharing knowledge and ideas, and his contributions to the field will continue to be felt for years.

Chris

Kai Bird is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist best known for his biographies of political figures. He has also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, the Duff Cooper Prize, a Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a Contributing Editor of The Nation magazine.&nbsp;
The bird was born in 1951. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and he spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Beirut, Dhahran, Cairo, and Bombay. He finished high school in 1969 at Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, South India. He received his BA from Carleton College in 1973 and an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1975. Bird now lives in Miami Beach, Florida, with his wife, Susan Goldmark, and their son, Joshua.
Bird's biographical works include The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms (Touchstone, 1998), The Chairman: John J. McCloy and the Making of the American Establishment (Random House, 1992), and Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy (1998), which he co-edited with Lawrence Lifschultz.
In April 2010, his Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956–1978, was released by Scribner. It is a meld of memoir and history, fusing his early life in the Arab world with an account of the American experience in the Middle East.
The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames (Crown, 2014) is a biography of CIA officer Robert Ames, whose career focus was the Middle East. According to the book, Ames played a key role in starting the peace process that led to the Oslo accords between Israel and the PLO. Ames perished on April 18, 1983, during the truck bombing of the American embassy in Beirut. In 2021 he published a biography on Jimmy Carter entitled The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter.

Mindy Kaling is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on the hit NBC sitcom “The Office” and the Fox comedy “The Mindy Project.” Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1979, Kaling was raised in a close-knit family of Indian immigrants. She attended Dartmouth College, where she studied playwriting and acting and graduated in 2001.
Kaling’s career began in the comedy world, writing for shows such as “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Simpsons.” She eventually joined the writing staff of “The Office” and became a co-executive producer during its final season. She also starred as the character Kelly Kapoor, a position and character she was praised for pioneering as a South Asian actress.
In 2012, Kaling created and starred in the Fox comedy series “The Mindy Project.” As the show’s star and executive producer, Kaling was praised for her work in creating a series that featured a strong female lead, a rarity in the television industry. The series ran for six seasons, with Kaling earning multiple awards and nominations for her writing and acting.
Kaling’s success has extended beyond television, as she has written and starred in two feature films, “The Night Before” and “Late Night.” She also wrote and starred in the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever” and wrote the best-selling memoir “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”
In recent years, Kaling has become a voice for female empowerment and racial representation in Hollywood. She has spoken out about the need for more diverse representation in the entertainment industry and works to ensure her own projects reflect these values. Kaling is a role model for women around the world and proves that hard work and dedication can lead to success.

Mindy

K.C. Cole is an American science writer, author, radio commentator, and professor emerita at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She has covered science for The Los Angeles Times since 1994, as well as writing for many other publications, and has been described as "the queen of the metaphor in science writing".
Of the ten books she has written, eight are nonfiction. These include the bestseller The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty (1998), which has been translated into a dozen languages, and her memoir about her late mentor, Frank Oppenheimer, Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up (2009).
Cole has received awards from the National Women's Political Caucus, the American Crystallographic Association, the American Institute of Physics, and the Skeptics Society, among others. She is a Lifetime Honorary Member of Sigma Xi.

K.C. 

Alexander Theodore "Sasha" Shulgin (June 17, 1925 – June 2, 2014) was an American medicinal chemist, biochemist, organic chemist, pharmacologist, psychopharmacologist, and author. He is credited with introducing 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as "ecstasy") to psychologists in the late 1970s for psychopharmaceutical use and for the discovery, synthesis, and personal bioassay of over 230 psychoactive compounds for their psychedelic and entactogenic potential.
In 1991 and 1997, he and his wife Ann Shulgin compiled the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL (standing for Phenethylamines and Tryptamines I Have Known And Loved) from notebooks that extensively described their work and personal experiences with these two classes of psychoactive drugs. Shulgin performed seminal work on the descriptive synthesis of many of these compounds. Some of Shulgin's noteworthy discoveries include compounds of the 2C* family (such as 2C-B) and compounds of the DOx family (such as DOM).
Due in part to Shulgin's extensive work in the field of psychedelic research and the rational drug design of psychedelic drugs, he has since been dubbed the "godfather of psychedelics."
Shulgin was born in Berkeley, California, to Theodore Stevens Shulgin (1893–1978)[3] and Henrietta D. (Aten) Shulgin (1894–1960). His father was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia; his mother was born in Illinois. Theodore and Henrietta were public school teachers in Alameda County.
Shulgin began studying organic chemistry as a Harvard University scholarship student at the age of 16. In 1943 he dropped out of school to join the U.S. Navy. While serving on USS Pope during World War II, a nurse gave Shulgin a glass of orange juice prior to surgery for a thumb infection. Shulgin drank the juice and, assuming that the powder at the bottom of the glass was a sedative, fell asleep rapidly. Upon waking, he learned that the powder was undissolved sugar. The experience made him aware of the influence of placebos over the human mind.
After serving in the Navy, Shulgin returned to Berkeley, California, and in 1954 earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Through the late 1950s, Shulgin completed post-doctoral work in the fields of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. After working at Bio-Rad Laboratories as a research director for a brief period, he began work at Dow Chemical Company as a senior research chemist.

Alexander

Adam Grant is an American psychologist and author widely known for his work on the science of giving, creativity, and organizational psychology. He is the top-rated professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a former professor at the University of Michigan. His first book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, was a New York Times bestseller.
Grant is a leading authority on the science of giving, creativity, and organizational psychology. He has written or co-written six books, including Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World and Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. He has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harvard Business Review, and other publications.
Grant's research focuses on how giving, taking, and exchanging advice affects an individual’s success. He has studied how to maximize the benefits of giving, how to encourage more successful collaborations, and how to foster an environment of innovation and creativity. He has also explored how to assess and develop leadership potential within organizations and how to build workplace cultures where employees are empowered to do their best work.
Grant has received numerous awards and honors, including being named one of the world's 40 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2015, one of the world's 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2018, and one of the world's most influential management gurus by The Observer in 2018. He is a recipient of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Mentoring and was named the Most Influential Thinker of the Decade by Poets &amp; Quants in 2020.
In addition to his academic and writing career, Grant is a frequent speaker for organizations, universities, and conferences around the world. He has presented to audiences of thousands at TEDx events, and he has been featured on television and radio programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, and NPR’s Fresh Air. He has also served as a visiting professor at Stanford, Cornell, and INSEAD, and he is currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics.

Adam

Neil Richard Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960, in Portchester, England. He originated from a family of Eastern European Jewish descent. His father, David Bernard Gaiman, worked at their family chain of stores, while his mother, Sheila Gaiman, was a pharmacist. In 1965 the family moved to East Grinstead, West Sussex, where Neil grew up with a profound love for reading, beginning as early as age 4.&nbsp;
Some of his favorite childhood books include J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Batman, and other comics. Gaiman received early education at various church schools, including Fonthill School in East Grinstead, Ardingly College, and Whitgift School in Croydon.
When Gaiman began to outgrow comic books in his teenage years, he realized the lack of comic books for an older mature audience. He, therefore, decided to fill the gap himself. Although he wanted to write comic books, Gaiman had little idea how to go about it. Following his graduation from high school in 1977, Gaiman became a journalist writing articles for a number of renowned publications such as the Sunday Times, the Observer, Knave, and Time Out.&nbsp;
In March 1985, Gaiman married McGrath after the birth of their son Michael in 1983. The couple had two more children, Holly and Madeleine. In 1984, Gaiman wrote his first book, a biography of the band Duran Duran. He continued writing articles and interviews in magazines under pseudonyms. However, in 1987, Gaiman waved goodbye to journalism, stating, “British newspapers can make up anything they want and publish it as fact.”&nbsp;
Also, in the late 1980s, Gaiman published Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion. Gaiman started writing comic books, continuing the series of Marvelman after its original creator and Gaiman’s friend Alan Moore abandoned it. After his impressive work on Marvelman, Gaiman was offered to write the limited series of Black Orchard and also to re-write an old character, The Sandman. From December 1988 to March 1966, Gaiman produced work on The Sandman, which was later collected in 12 volumes.&nbsp;
More significant comic works by Neil Gaiman include The Books of Magic (1989), Lady Justice, and Mr. Hero. The Newmatic Man, Teknophage, Tales of the White Wolf, Whatever happened to the Caper Crusader, as well as contributions to Wednesday Comics.

Neil

Laura Ann Shulgin (née Gotlieb; March 22, 1931 – July 9, 2022) was an American author and the wife of chemist Alexander Shulgin, with whom she wrote PiHKAL and TiHKAL. Laura Ann Gotlieb was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to parents Bernard Gotlieb and Gwen Ormiston, but grew up in the village Opicina outside the Italian city Trieste. Her father was U.S. Consul in Trieste for six years before World War II.&nbsp;
Later in her childhood, she lived in the U.S., Cuba, and Canada. She studied art, became an artist, married an artist, and had a child, and they later divorced. She had two more marriages ending in divorce and had three more children. Ann went back to work as a medical transcriber and met Alexander ("Sasha") Shulgin in 1978; they were married on 4 July 1981 in their backyard.
She worked as a lay therapist with psychedelic substances such as MDMA and 2C-B in therapeutic settings while these drugs were still legal. In her writings, she stressed the potential of these drugs from a Jungian psychoanalytic perspective and their use in combination with hypnotherapy. She often appeared as a speaker at conventions and continued to advocate the use of psychedelics in therapeutic contexts.
Together with her husband, she authored the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL. They developed a systematic way of ranking the effects of the various drugs, known as the Shulgin Rating Scale, with a vocabulary to describe the visual, auditory, and physical sensations. She also contributed to the books Thanatos to Eros: 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration, Entheogens and the Future of Religion, Ecstasy: The Complete Guide, The Secret Chief Revealed, Higher Wisdom: Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics, and Manifesting Minds: A Review of Psychedelics in Science, Medicine, Sex, and Spirituality.
According to her daughter, Shulgin was ill because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Shulgin died July 9, 2022, at her and her late husband's San Francisco Bay Area residence.

Emily Ratajkowski is an American model and actress known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and her role in the music video for Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." She has been featured in magazines such as Vogue, GQ, and Elle, as well as in campaigns for brands such as DKNY and Balmain. In addition to modeling and acting, Ratajkowski is also an advocate for women's rights and has been involved in the Me Too movement.
Ratajkowski was born in London and raised in California. She began her modeling career at the age of 14 and has since appeared in numerous magazines and campaigns. She has become known for her curvaceous figure and for her willingness to embrace her sexuality. Ratajkowski has stated that she loves being a "sexy, curvy woman" and that she enjoys being able to express her femininity through her work.
Ratajkowski made her acting debut in the film Gone Girl and has since appeared in several other films, including Entourage and We Are Your Friends. In 2017, she starred in the film In Darkness, as well as a lead role in the television series Easy. She made her Broadway debut in 2019, playing the lead role in the musical adaptation of The Spoils.
Ratajkowski is also an outspoken feminist and advocates for women's rights. She has been involved in the Me Too movement and has spoken out against the objectification of women in the media. She has also been vocal about her support for the Women's March and the Black Lives Matter movement and has spoken out in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Ratajkowski is a multi-faceted and ambitious individual who has used her platform to speak out on a range of social issues. She is an inspiration to many, and her success and advocacy have made her an icon of modern feminism.

Emily

Antonio García Martínez is an entrepreneur, investor, writer, and tech industry veteran. He has had a long and varied career, beginning in the early days of the dot-com boom and continuing today. Early in his career, Antonio worked in a variety of roles at companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs.
At Apple, Antonio held a variety of positions, including working on the retail side of the business, developing software, and helping to launch the Apple Store. At Microsoft, Antonio was involved in the development of a number of products, including Windows 95 and Windows 98. After leaving Microsoft, Antonio founded Adify, a venture-backed ad network that WPP eventually acquired.
More recently, Antonio has become an investor, author, and thought leader in the technology and venture capital industries. He has invested in a variety of startups, including Twitter, Uber, and Stripe. He is also the author of the book Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, which chronicles his experiences in the tech industry.
In addition to his work as an investor and author, Antonio is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. He has appeared on the TED stage, as well as at conferences including SXSW, DLD, and TechCrunch Disrupt. Antonio is often called upon to provide his expertise and insight into the tech industry, as well as his views on the current state of venture capital and startups.
Overall, Antonio García Martínez is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor, author, and thought leader. His wealth of experience and knowledge from working in and around the tech industry, combined with his excellent communication skills, make him a highly sought-after individual in the industry.

Antonio García

Paul Graham is an entrepreneur, programmer, and essayist. He is the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that has funded over 2,000 companies including Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit. His career has been focused on technology and startups. He began his career as a programmer and software developer, working on various projects and startups. In 1995, he co-founded Viaweb, one of the first web-based companies that allowed users to create their own online stores. The company was later sold to Yahoo in 1998 for $49 million.
After the sale of Viaweb, Graham turned his attention to startup investing and mentoring. In 2005, he co-founded Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that provides funding, resources, and mentorship to early-stage startups. Y Combinator has since funded over 2,000 companies, many of which have gone on to become successful and valuable companies, such as Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit.
Paul Graham has several notable achievements in his career, including:
<ul>
<li>Co-founding Viaweb: Viaweb was one of the first web-based companies that allowed users to create their own online stores. The company was later sold to Yahoo in 1998 for $49 million.</li>
<li>Fellowship at Harvard's Society of Fellows: Graham is a Fellow at Harvard's Society of Fellows, a prestigious group of scholars who receive funding and support to pursue their research.</li>
<li>Helping launch successful startups: Graham has helped launch many successful startups through Y Combinator and has mentored many entrepreneurs. Some of the successful companies that came out of Y Combinator include Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit.</li>
</ul>
In addition to his work with Y Combinator, Graham is also known for his essays on technology and startups. He has written extensively on the startup ecosystem, the role of technology in society, and the future of the internet. His essays have been collected in two books, "Hackers &amp; Painters" and "Ansi Common Lisp." He continues to share his thoughts and insights on his website, paulgraham.com.

Paul

Chris Austin Hadfield is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, and musician. The first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown two Space Shuttle missions and also served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Prior to his career as an astronaut, he served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 25 years as an Air Command fighter pilot.
Hadfield had cited part of his career inspiration to have come to him as a child when he watched the first crewed Moon landing by American spaceflight Apollo 11 on television. He attended high school in Oakville and Milton in southern Ontario and earned his glider pilot license as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. After enlisting in the Canadian Armed Forces, he earned an engineering degree at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.
Hadfield learned to fly various types of aircraft in the military and eventually became a test pilot, flying several experimental planes. As part of an exchange program with the United States Navy and United States Air Force, he obtained a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
In 1992, Hadfield was accepted into the Canadian astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency. He first flew into space in November 1995 as a mission specialist aboard STS-74, visiting the Russian space station Mir. He flew again in April 2001 on STS-100, when he visited the ISS and walked in space to help install Canadarm2.
In December 2012, he flew for a third time aboard Soyuz TMA-07M to join Expedition 34 on the ISS. When Expedition 34 ended in March 2013, Hadfield became the commander of the ISS as part of Expedition 35, responsible for a crew of five astronauts and helping to run dozens of scientific experiments dealing with the impact of low gravity on human biology.
During this mission, he chronicled life onboard the space station by taking pictures of Earth and posting them on various social media platforms. He was a guest on television news and talk shows and gained popularity by playing the ISS's guitar in space. Hadfield returned to Earth in May 2013, when the mission ended. He announced his retirement shortly after returning, capping a 35-year-long career as a military pilot and astronaut.

Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series.&nbsp;
Prior to Girls, Dunham wrote, directed, and starred in the semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Her second feature film, Sharp Stick, written and directed by Dunham, was released in 2022. Her third film, Catherine Called Birdy, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022.&nbsp;
It was released in a limited release on September 23, 2022, by Amazon Studios, prior to streaming on Prime Video on October 7, 2022. In 2013, Dunham was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, Dunham released her first book, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned."&nbsp;
In 2015, along with Girls showrunner Jenni Konner, Dunham created the publication Lenny Letter, a feminist online newsletter. The publication ran for three years before folding in late 2018. Dunham briefly appeared in films such as Supporting Characters and This Is 40 (both 2012) and Happy Christmas (2014).&nbsp;
She voiced Mary in the 2016 film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. On television, aside from Girls, she has played guest roles in Scandal and The Simpsons (both 2015). In 2017, she portrayed Valerie Solanas in American Horror Story: Cult. Dunham's work, as well as her outspoken presence on social media and in interviews, have attracted significant controversy, praise, criticism, and media scrutiny throughout her career.

Lena

Anne Hope Jahren is an American geochemist and geobiologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, known for her work using stable isotope analysis to analyze fossil forests dating to the Eocene. She has won many prestigious awards in the field, including the James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union. Her book Lab Girl (2016) has been applauded as both "a personal memoir and a paean to the natural world," a literary fusion of memoir and science writing, and "a compellingly earthy narrative."
Jahren earned her Ph.D. in 1996 at the University of California, Berkeley, in the field of soil science. Her dissertation covered the formation of biominerals in plants and used novel stable isotope methods to examine the processes. From 1996 to 1999, she was an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, then moved to Johns Hopkins University, where she stayed until 2008.
At Georgia Tech, she conducted pioneering research on paleoatmospheres using fossilized plants and discovered the second methane hydrate release event that occurred 117 million years ago. She also spent a year on a Fulbright Award at the University of Copenhagen, learning DNA analysis techniques.
While at Johns Hopkins, Jahren received media attention for her work with the fossil forests of Axel Heiberg Island. Her studies of the trees allowed her to estimate the environmental conditions on the island 45 million years ago. She and her collaborators analyzed the depletion of oxygen isotopes to determine the weather patterns there that allowed large Metasequoia forests to flourish during the Eocene. Her research at Johns Hopkins also included the first extraction and analysis of DNA found in paleosol and the first discovery of stable isotopes existing in a multicellular organism's DNA.
Jahren left Johns Hopkins for a full professorship at the University of Hawaii. Her research there focused on using stable isotope analysis to determine characteristics of the environment on different timescales. On September 1, 2016, Jahren became the J. Tuzo Wilson Professor at the University of Oslo's Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics. She studies how living and fossil organisms are chemically linked to the environment.
Jahren has received three Fulbright Awards: in 1992 for geology work conducted in Norway, in 2003 for environmental science work conducted in Denmark, and in 2010 for arctic science work conducted in Norway. In 2001, Jahren won the Donath Medal, awarded by the Geological Society of America. In 2005, she was awarded the Macelwane Medal, becoming the first woman and fourth scientist overall to win both the Macelwane Medal and the Donath Medal.
Popular Science magazine profiled Jahren in 2006 as one of its "Brilliant 10" scientists. She was a 2013 Leopold Fellow at Stanford University's Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. In 2016, Time Magazine named her one of the world's "100 Most Influential People." Jahren was awarded the Australian Society for Medical Research Medal in 2018. She was also elected to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 2018.

Hope

Joel

William Shockley, a Nobel Prize winner for his invention of the transistor, became known for his controversial and incendiary statements about race, intelligence, and genetics.  Ultimately his crusade destroyed his reputation and he died proclaiming his work as his greatest accomplishment.  Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joel N.  Shurkin gives an account of this remarkable man's life and times in a biography that provides unique access to private Shockley archives and exposes this contradictory figure. 

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, one of the world's largest and most successful technology companies, in 1975. Gates has been regularly ranked as one of the world's wealthiest people and was the richest from 1995 to 2017. As of November 2020, Gates had a net worth of US$132.1 billion, making him the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.
Gates held the positions of Chairman, CEO, and Chief Software Architect at Microsoft until 2000 when he stepped down from day-to-day operations. After leaving Microsoft, Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, co-chaired the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, a private charitable foundation dedicated to improving healthcare and education worldwide. Gates remains a board member of Microsoft and a Technology Advisor to its current CEO, Satya Nadella.
Gates is one of the most influential figures in technology and business. He has received numerous awards and honors for his philanthropic work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Aztec Eagle. He is also a member of the Giving Pledge, an organization created by billionaires Warren Buffett and Gates to promote charitable giving.
Gates has been a passionate advocate for using technology to improve the world. His vision of a computer on every desk and home has been realized. He is one of the most vocal proponents of using technology to address social and environmental challenges. He has also been outspoken in supporting government funding for scientific research, particularly renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
Gates' philanthropic efforts have been focused on improving global health, providing access to technology for underserved populations, and promoting educational opportunities for children and young adults. He has made significant investments in initiatives to fight poverty and increase access to medical care, particularly in the developing world. In addition, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with numerous organizations to promote improved sanitation, clean water, and disease prevention among the world's poorest people.
Gates' commitment to giving back has been an inspiration to many. His dedication to using technology and business to improve the lives of people around the world is an example of how successful people can use their resources to make a difference.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of open-source technology, advocating for the development of software and hardware that is freely available to the public. He has also been a vocal proponent of the open internet and a leader in the fight against censorship and government surveillance. In addition, he has been a strong advocate for using technology to combat climate change and has invested in numerous renewable energy initiatives.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of net neutrality and has spoken out in favor of increased competition in the technology sector. His efforts to improve people's lives worldwide have earned him the admiration of many, and his commitment to philanthropy and innovation has made him one of the world's most influential and respected figures.

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In Broken Genius, Joel N. Shurkin explores the life of William Shockley, the man who invented the transistor. Despite his genius, Shockley's life was filled with controversy and failure. This book gives us a chance to see the human side of a scientific genius.

The Genius of William Shockley

Did you know that William Shockley is considered the father of Silicon Valley? Shurkin's book takes us on a journey to the early days of Silicon Valley, showing us how Shockley's invention of the transistor led to the tech revolution we see today.

The Birth of Silicon Valley

Broken Genius doesn't shy away from exploring the darker side of William Shockley's life. From his controversial views on race and intelligence to his failure as a business leader, Shurkin paints a complex picture of a man who was both a genius and deeply flawed.

The Dark Side of Genius

One of the key takeaways from Broken Genius is how Shockley's personality affected his success. Despite his brilliant mind, his inability to work well with others and his stubbornness led to his downfall. This book is a great reminder of the importance of emotional intelligence in achieving success.

The Impact of Personality on Success

Finally, Broken Genius makes us think about the human cost of innovation. Shockley's obsession with his work led to personal and professional failures. It's a reminder that while innovation is important, it shouldn't come at the expense of our relationships and mental health.

The Human Cost of Innovation

Broken Genius

Joel N. Shurkin is Science Writer Emeritus at Stanford University, USA, where he has written and taught for many years. He covered the moon landings for Reuters, served ten years as Science Writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer and was on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for covering Three Mile Island, among many other awards.&nbsp;
He has written nine books including Terman's Kids (Little, Brown) about the study of gifted students, Invisible Fire, on the eradication of smallpox, a science-fiction novel called The Helix (Norton) and most recently A Consumer's Guide to Psychotherapy (OUP). His definitive history of the computer, Engines of the Mind (Norton), is in multiple editions in several languages.

Joel N. Shurkin

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Broken Genius

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