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RSS feed		survey abc | def | ghi | jkl | mno | pqrs | tuv | wxyz | index Survey home Introduction Survey responses RSS feed Anjana Ahuja Julian Baggini Philip Ball Marlene Oscar Berman Gustav VR Born K Eric Drexler Marcus Du Sautoy Edmond H Fischer John Hall Tim Hunt Wolfgang Ketterle Leon Lederman Matt Ridley Raymond Tallis Frank Wilczek Lewis Wolpert Scott Aaronson theoretical computer scientist at the Institute for Quantum Computing University of Waterloo, Canada The greatest innovation in computer science was to represent machines as nothing but strings of information. Ian Abley architect and research engineer The brick made civilisation possible, and will continue to do so. Professor Thomas M Addiscott soil scientist, computer modeller and science writer The Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia allowing the production of nitrogen fertiliser. Anjana Ahuja science columnist The Times Sanitation, vaccination and modern surgery are all worth celebrating. Dr Hugh Aldersey-Williams writer and curator As a writer I find two of the greatest innovations to be the tea cosy and digestive biscuits. Dr Martyn Amos senior lecturer in computing Manchester Metropolitan University 'Take away the semiconductor, and all of electronics - all of it! - collapses, along with all of the world's economies.' Dr Roger Armour retired consultant surgeon and inventor of the Optyse Lens Free Ophthalmoscope When Helmholtz announced his invention of the ophthalmoscope in December 1850, he gave the healing professions a priceless gift which he refused to patent. Dr Ken Arnold head of public programmes, Wellcome Trust From my perspective x-rays have always seemed pretty extraordinary. Dr Scott Atran research director, anthropology at the National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris Showing the limits of theories of rational choice and utility is a valid and important scientific achievement. Branko R Babic inventor Modern life without electricity would be impossible and would return humanity to prehistoric modes of existence. Julian Baggini writer, journalist and editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine Kant’s revolutionary idea that knowledge is essentially framed by the human mind. Dr Philip Ball consultant editor at Nature and science writer Arguably, the most useful innovations in chemistry are methods of chemical analysis. I know that this sounds almost irredeemably dull, but I can't help feeling that that is the way with truly useful innovations. Dr Alec Bangham formerly of the ARC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham. Human pheronomes have recently been shown to be unique to an individual thus suggesting that they may be profiling a person's MHC. Robert S Baratz president of the National Council Against Health Fraud In the field of cellular biology, the greatest invention was the development and refinement of the electron microscope. Michael Baum emeritus professor of surgery and visiting professor of medical humanities at University College London. Understanding breast cancer as a systemic disorder has led to better survival rates. Gordon Bell principal researcher with the Microsoft eSciences Research Group, San Francisco The Big Bang occurred when processing, memory, and control (programming) all came together to create the stored program computer concept that was the basis of subsequent computer innovation. Marlene Oscar Berman professor of anatomy and neurobiology, professor of psychiatry and professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine Neuroimaging techniques for understanding healthy brain structure and function, disease, trauma, and other disorders Dr Jong Bhak director, Korean Bioinformation Center (KOBIC) Exchanging biological/scientific information via openfree hypertext servers will revolutionise the collaborative work of biology/science in the near future as much as the internet itself did to biology in the 1990s. Dr Susan Blackmore writer, lecturer and broadcaster The electroencephalogram. It began the process of being able to peer inside a human brain and watch it actually working. Bernhard Blauel architect, RIBA, Blauel Architects. The greatest innovation in my field is man’s ability to reach places where gravity is reduced to imperceptible levels. Dr Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen reader in geography at the University of Hull I can think of a bad one: ever more people pontificate about science and especially 'global warming' without any real understanding of climate and how little we understand it. Gustav VR Born Research professor at the William Harvey Research Institute and emeritus professor of pharmacology at King's College London The method for quantifying platelet aggregation and its inhibition known as optical aggregometry. David Bradley freelance science writer based in Cambridge, sciencebase.com Our knowledge of the inorganic chemistry of ammonia, lime and sulphuric acid. John Brignell emeritus professor of industrial instrumentation at the University of Southampton The 200-year-old invention of lithography changed the modern world. Professor Philip C Brookes Agriculture and Environment Division, Rothamsted Research The greatest innovation was Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection; that is, species can change as the environment does. Časlav Brukner associate professor of theoretical physics at the University of Vienna Bell's theorem has fundamentally changed our understanding of physical reality. Professor Vladimir Burdyuzha Astro Space Center, Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow The discovery that dark energy was already boosting the expansion of the Universe as long as nine billion years ago. Nick Bush business improvement consultant, BT Retail What makes the Internet a key innovation is the effect it is beginning to have on societal structures in business, politics and leisure. Dr Andrew Calcutt principal lecturer, University of East London Recognition that surface appearances while not necessarily untrue are hardly sufficient, still less essential. Dr Marcus Chown cosmology consultant of New Scientist The greatest innovation in physics was the realisation that the fundamental reality that underpins the world is totally unlike the familiar, everyday world of our senses. Dr Stuart Clark science journalist and author Changing the emphasis of astronomy from measuring stellar positions for navigation to investigating the physical nature of celestial objects. Professor Peter Cochrane co-founder of ConceptLabs The invention of the triode vacuum tube in 1915 by Lee DeForest marks the beginning of the information technology revolution. David Colquhoun research professor of pharmacology at University College London The invention of the patch clamp made it possible to observe the opening and shutting of single ion channel molecules. Phillip J Colquitt independent technical advisor The most important innovation I’ve seen, being involved in health care for 30 years, is the move from metal to plastic. Dr Bill Cooke senior lecturer, School of Visual Arts, University of Auckland at Manukau, New Zealand The greatest innovation in the field of religious studies is the very invention of the whole discipline. Quentin Cooper broadcaster Radio can bring you into instant contact with almost anyone on the planet in an unfettered unfiltered way Dr Stuart Derbyshire senior lecturer University of Birmingham School of Psychology. The development of procedures to illustrate conformity revealed how circumstances and information determine behaviour. Keith J Devlin professor of mathematics at Stanford University The greatest innovation in mathematics was the Hindu-Arabic number system. David Dickson director Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) Moveable type, without which the growth of books, newspapers and magazines would have been impossible. Dr Justin Dillon senior lecturer in science and environmental education and subject director, PGCE chemistry, King's College London In the field of science education, the Nuffield Foundation Science Teaching Project (1949-1993) stands head and shoulders above any other curriculum development. Dr K Eric Drexler author The development of a method that enables the design and fabrication of 3D, million-atom-scale, atomically precise structures by one person in a single day. Nicola Drury genetic counsellor The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953. Marcus Du Sautoy professor of mathematics at Wadham College, Oxford The zeta function is a nineteenth century concept exploited by the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann to reveal many of the secrets of the primes. Jack D Dunitz emeritus professor of chemical crystallography at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology The discovery by Max von Laue in 1912 that X-rays are diffracted by crystals, and the application of this to determine the atomic arrangement within crystals. John Dupre professor of philosophy of science, University of Exeter Seeing nature at all levels as dynamic and changing, as consisting only of processes and events rather than of things with eternally definable properties. David Edgerton Hans Rausing professor in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine Imperial College London. I don't know, and I don't think anyone else knows either! Artur Ekert Leigh Trapnell professor of quantum physics, University of Cambridge In my field (quantum computing and cryptography) the great innovations are yet to come (but I am happy with my discovery of quantum cryptography). Dr John Emsley chemist and science writer The discovery of elemental phosphorus by Hennig Brandt of Hamburg in 1669. James E Enstrom research professor/epidemiologist Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA The use of advanced statistical techniques like proportional hazards regression to analyse epidemiologic data. Edzard Ernst professor of complementary medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth The controlled clinical trial changed medicine entirely as for the first time in history we were able to make formal comparisons and define what works and what doesn't work. Dr Dylan Evans writer and independent social entrepeneur I can't think of a single innovation in any field, let alone my own, that merits the adjective ‘great’. Nina Fedoroff Willaman professor of life sciences and Evan Pugh professor The greatest innovation in my field has been the ability to introduce genes into plants. Stanley Feldman emeritus professor of anaesthesia Imperial College London Today we realise that life is impossible unless we control what Bernard described as the ‘milieur interieur’. It is the real secret of life. Ian Fells emeritus professor of energy conversion at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne The greatest innovation in my field is nuclear fission and fusion, the conversion of mass into energy. Dr Christine Finn archaeologist at the Universities of Bradford and Bristol The possibility of fast, efficient, public, and low-cost communications that span contexts and time-zones - the internet. Edmond H Fischer professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of Washington There is no question that the greatest advances occurred in the field of genetic engineering, with the cloning, characterisation, manipulation and expression of genes. Professor Brian J Ford biologist, microscopist and science writer/broadcaster Microscopes reveal living universes of microbes, which you cannot otherwise know. Hayley J Fowler senior research associate in the Water Resource Systems Research Laboratory, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at the University of Newcastle The World Wide Web Ken Freeman Duffield professor, Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics The Australian National University Because charge-coupled devices are linear, have a high quantum efficiency and cover a useful area, they transformed optical astronomy into the precise and quantitative field that we now enjoy. Steve Fuller professor of sociology at the University of Warwick The ‘unity of research and teaching’ that characterises the mission of the modern university. Professor Howard Garner professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education The ‘cognitive revolution’: researchers peered inside the black box and attempted to describe the mental structures and processes that are - or give rise to - thoughts as well as behaviours. John Garrow emeritus professor of human nutrition University of London The greatest innovation in the field of human nutrition was the Human Calorimeter built by W O Atwater and F G Benedict in a basement room in the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut Dr Lee C Gerhard independent geologist working with Thomasson Partner Associates James Hutton's famous Uniformitarianism statement of 1783, ‘The Present is the Key to the Past’ is the basis of geology. Dr Adrian Gibbs virologist The single most important invention for understanding the evolution of viruses was gene sequencing, closely followed by computers Dr Ian Gibson MP for Norwich North, ex-dean of the School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia The greatest innovation in my field was the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process by which several sections of DNA could be multiplied many times accurately to give many copies. Dr Chris Goodier senior research associate, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University The invention of concrete, which is now the 2nd most used resource in the world. Dr Kenneth Green resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute The environmental movement of the 1970s raised awareness of the many harms that humans can do to the environment; Aaron Wildavsky created a rational framework for figuring out what to do about it. Dr John Gribbin astrophysicist and science writer The World Wide Web Clive Grinyer director of design, Orange France Telecom ExploCentre Text messaging, originally installed as a tool for engineers to repair or update phones, provided a fast, non-intrusive, secretive way of communicating that proved hugely popular. Professor J Storrs Hall research fellow of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing and an independent author. Philosophers (ranging from philosophers of mind to moral) still haven't managed to digest Darwin’s theory of evolution yet, and when they do, philosophy will look completely different. John Hall University of Colorado at Boulder; winner, Nobel Prize for Physics, 2005 A new laser can be brought into the lab, unpacked, and measured accurately (how about 15 digits?) before lunch, and perhaps even before morning coffee time John Harnad professor of mathematics and statistics at Concordia University in Montréal The demonstration of renormalisability in 1970-71 brought theoretical high-energy physics back onto a consistent track. Dr Dennis Hayes joint president, University and College Union, founder Academics for Academic Freedom Over two millennia later, the Socratic dialectic is more important than ever. Nick Hayward researcher in biophysics and the biology of neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Kuopio Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has accelerated the advancement of many fields of research Dr Kerry Hempenstall Educational psychologist, senior lecturer in psychology at RMIT University in Melbourne When the alphabetic principle is understood, we can read and write any words that we can say, not only the words that we’ve seen before and managed to recognise Dr Caspar JM Hewett chair of the Great Debate and environmental consultant The digital computer, which has enabled the mathematical modelling of complex processes. Dr Sharon Ann Holgate freelance science writer and broadcaster I've often wondered if the scientists responsible for the transistor had even begun to imagine the scale and influence of the electronics industry that their breakthrough would spawn. John Horgan Science writer and journalist, director of the Horganism Free will is the single most profound innovation in human intellectual history Surveying the responses editor-at-large, spiked First thoughts on the spiked/Pfizer survey. Sir Tim Hunt Principal scientist, Cancer Research UK, Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2001 (shared with Lee Hartwell and Paul Nurse) Recombinant DNA technology stands for a whole panoply of clever tricks and brilliant inventions that have earned their many originators scores (or at least dozens) of Nobel prizes Piet Hut Professor of interdisciplinary studies at the Institute for Advanced Study The possibility of creating a virtual lab in which to let stars and galaxies interact with each other is the greatest qualitative innovation in astrophysics Simon Ings science writer, critic and novelist The invention of spectacles with arms increased one's comfortable reading-time from a few minutes to virtually every waking moment, and drove the Enlightenment as surely as the invention of printing drove the Renaissance Annette Karmiloff-Smith professorial research fellow at the School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London. The possibility of measuring (in a non-invasive way) brain activity in human infants while they are processing different stimuli. Wolfgang Ketterle professor of physics at the Centre for Ultracold Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics In atomic and optical physics, the biggest innovations have been the laser and ultracold atoms Charles Kohlhase artist, science educator, and lead designer of numerous planetary missions Tremendous advances have been made in the art and science of deep space navigation. Dr Boris Kotchoubey Researcher at the Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Tübingen The greatest innovation in psychology would be to marry social science and the science of the brain Dr Peter Lane veterinary surgeon When chloroform became available, it meant that a whole series of serious surgical operations, including cutting into body cavities, could be undertaken humanely Graeme Laver Former professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Australian National University in Canberra The concept of preventing infection by viruses by administering killed or weakened preparations of viruses to people (and animals) has lead to the prevention and in some cases elimination, of many diseases caused by viruses. Smallpox, polio, yellow fever, measles and mumps are some that come to mind Leon M Lederman Pritzker professor of science at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics The greatest advance in our understanding of how the world works is the discovery of quantum field theory carried out in the 1920-50 epoch William L Ledger Professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Sheffield It has to be the achievement of fertilisation 'in vitro' with successful embryo transfer and implantation leading to the birth of Louise Brown in 1978 Dr Peggy G Lemaux Cooperative extension specialist in plant biotechnology at the University of California in Berkeley Without a doubt, the invention of most impact in the field of biology - be it that of animals, micro-organisms or plants - is the development and use of recombinant DNA methods Dr Gilbert V Levin Founder of Spherix Language makes possible the accumulation of knowledge, including science, and its transmission from generation to generation Professor Norman Levitt Professor of mathematics at Rutgers University in New Jersey The new methods for analysing topological questions that arise from the study of Ricci flows on Riemannian structures, utilising deep ideas from differential geometry and partial differential equations Sir Chris Llewellyn-Smith Director UKAEA Culham Tokamaks are the most promising route to mastering fusion (which powers the sun) on earth and thereby providing an essentially limitless, environmentally responsible, large scale source of energy Professor Seth Lloyd Professor of quantum mechanical engineering MIT. The idea that we should think about the fundamental processes in physics in terms of information Robert A Lodder Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Miniaturisation is making possible great strides in the Triple-A problems in science Dr Bob Lucky Former corporate vice president of research at Telcordia Technologies The greatest innovation was the open platform for communications created by the Internet architecture Professor Nils-Axel Mörner professor of paleogeophysics and geodynamics at Stockholm University When Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 put the Sun in the centre, a depressing ‘ruling model’ was killed after 1800 years, and science, thinking and innovation exploded. Ken MacLeod science fiction author The greatest innovation in my field was the infodump, otherwise known as the expository lump... Professor Peter Maitlis emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Sheffield The development of techniques for the structural elucidation of molecules, such as NMR, X-ray crystallography, neutron diffraction, etc.
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