MIT Technology Review has just released its 35 innovators under 35 and there are two Africans on this list – Nigerian Inioluwa Deborah Raji and Tunisian Mohamed Dhaouafi.
Her research on racial bias in data used to train facial recognition systems is forcing companies to change their ways. Based in the US, Inioluwa Deborah Raji is driven by the desire to make AI ethics easier to practice—“to take the kind of high-level ethical ideals that we like to talk about as a community and try to translate that into concrete actions, resources, and frameworks. She has worked on several other projects that have helped set standards for algorithmic accountability.
Mohamed Dhaouafi’s company’s artificial limbs are not only high-functioning but cheap enough for people in low-income countries. He has a product he believes will help make advanced artificial limbs more accessible. His Tunisia-based startup, Cure Bionics, is in the process of finalizing an adjustable multi-grip bionic arm that will sell for about $2,000—a fraction of the cost of similar devices. His team plans to keep costs down by 3D-printing key components and engineering much of the circuitry in-house
Dhaouafi and his colleagues are closing in on their initial product launch: they’ve already tested their arm with five Tunisian youths and will soon initiate trials at three government hospitals. Ultimately Dhaouafi hopes to offer a range of high-quality, affordable prosthetics for young people across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.
Established in 1999 as the TR100, the annual list recognizes outstanding innovators who are younger than 35. The awards span a wide range of fields, including biotechnology, materials, computer hardware, energy, transportation, communications, and the Web. The goal is to recognize the development of new technology or the creative application of existing technologies to solve problems.
The MIT Technology review “35 innovators under 35” contest generates more than 500 nominations each year. The editors then face the task of picking 100 semifinalists to put in front of 25 judges, who have expertise in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, software, energy, materials, and so on. With the invaluable help of these rankings, the editors pick the final list of 35.
The 35 innovators under 5 categories are as follows:
Inventors
Their innovations point toward a future with new types of batteries, solar panels, and microchips
- Omar Abudayyeh (USA): He’s working to use CRISPR as a covid-19 test that you could take at home
- Christina Boville (USA) : She modifies enzymes to enable production of new compounds for industry.
- Manuel Le Gallo (Canada): He uses novel computer designs to make AI less power hungry.
- Nadya Peek (USA): She builds novel modular machines that can do just about anything you can imagine
- Leila Pirhaji (Iran): She developed an AI-based system that can identify more small molecules in a patient’s body, faster than ever before
- Randall Jeffrey Platt (USA): His recording tool provides a video of genes turning on or off
- Rebecca Saive (Germany): She found a way to make solar panels cheaper and more efficient
- Venkat Viswanathan (India): His work on a new type of battery could make EVs much cheaper
- Anastasia Volkova (Ukraine): Her platform uses remote sensing and other techniques to monitor crop health—helping farmers focus their efforts where they’re most needed
- Sihong Wang (China): His stretchable microchips promise to make all sorts of new devices possible
Entrepreneurs
Their technological innovations bust up the status quo and lead to new ways of doing business.
- Jiwei Li (China): In the last few months, Google and Facebook have both released new chatbots. Jiwei Li’s techniques are at the heart of both
- Atima Lui (USA): She’s using technology to correct the cosmetics industry’s bias toward light skin
- Tony Pan (Taiwan): His company revamps an old device to allow you to generate electricity in your own home
Visionaries
Their innovations are leading to breakthroughs in AI, quantum computing, and medical implants.
- Bo Li (China): By devising new ways to fool AI, she is making it safer
- Leilani Battle (USA): Her program sifts through data faster so scientists can focus more on science
- Morgan Beller (USA): She was a key player behind the idea of a Facebook cryptocurrency
- Eimear Dolan (Ireland): Medical implants are often thwarted as the body grows tissue to defend itself. She may have found a drug-free fix for the problem
- Rose Faghih (USA): Her sensor-laden wristwatch would monitor your brain states
- Zlatko Minev (Bulgaria): His discovery could reduce errors in quantum computing
- Miguel Modestino (Venezuela): He is reducing the chemical industry’s carbon footprint by using AI to optimize reactions with electricity instead of heat
- Inioluwa Deborah Raji (Nigeria): Her research on racial bias in data used to train facial recognition systems is forcing companies to change their ways
- Adriana Schulz (Brazil): Her tools let anyone design products without having to understand materials science or engineering
- Dongjin Seo (US): He is designing computer chips to seamlessly connect human brains and machines
Humanitarians
They’re using technology to cure diseases and make water, housing, and prosthetics available to all.
- Mohammed Dhaouafi (Tunisia): His company’s artificial limbs are not only high-functioning but cheap enough for people in low-income countries.
- Alex Le Roux (Canada): A massive 3D-printing project in Mexico could point the way to the future of affordable housing
- Katharina Volz (Germany): A loved one’s diagnosis led her to employ machine learning in the search for a Parkinson’s cure
- David Warsinger (USA): His system could alleviate the drawbacks of existing desalination plants
Pioneers
Their innovations lead the way to biodegradable plastics, textiles that keep you cool, and cars that “see.”
- Ghena Alhanaee (United Arab Emirates): Heavy dependence on infrastructure like oil rigs, nuclear reactors, and desalination plants can be catastrophic in a crisis. Her data-driven framework could help nations prepare
- Avinash Manjula Basavanna (India): His biodegradable plastic protects against extreme chemicals, but heals itself using water
- Lili Cai (China): She created energy-efficient textiles to break our air-conditioning habit
- Gregory Ekchian (USA): He invented a way to make radiation therapy for cancer safer and more effective
- Jennifer Glick (USA): f quantum computers work, what can we use them for? She’s working to figure that out
- Andrej Karpathy (Slovakia): He’s employing neural networks to allow automated cars to “see.”
- Andreas Puschnik (Germany): Seeking a universal treatment for viral diseases, he might leave us much better prepared for the next pandemic.
- Siddharth Krishnan (India): A tiny, powerful sensor for making disease diagnosis cheaper, faster, and easier
