Josh Nicholson is a cell biologist turned applied metascientist — a rare blend of scientist and entrepreneur. He's adept at questioning and debating the problems facing academia (which we did), but he prefers to spend his time building solutions, or as he calls it: DTFE (do the f#%@ing experiment). His current project and company is scite, a smart citation tool. It's like x-ray vision for reading scientific papers.

We underestimate the long-term good that comes from big, ambitious science and technology projects. As long as it's honest and rigorous, every experiment yields data, lessons, and directions for future research. Leslie Dewan is telling the story of one such misunderstood project: the U.S. Air Force's attempts at nuclear-powered aircraft.

Alex Dehgan takes conservation to the extremes. After doing his PhD work studying lemurs in Madagascar, Dehgan has brought his mission of ending human-induced extinction to a long list of precarious and unlikely places, including a heroic effort of national park creation in post-war Afghanistan. His current focus is bridging the gap between conservation and technology.

The Wall Street Journal dubbed Selbe the “Rocket-Scientists Environmentalist” before anyone was talking about conservation technology. Back then, he was busy inventing ways to put his engineering skills to work solving big problems facing the natural world. His prototyping and invention created a new career for Selbe and entire new field for ambitious engineers and scientists.

Ariel is a trailblazing citizen scientist, creating paths and onramps to the scientific process for the world to follow. She’s brought this participatory ethos to working in the depths of space and, more recently, under the ice in Antarctica. Always worth following, her ongoing adventures are a testament to the power of a curious and creative spirit.

Keolu Fox does cutting-edge science and is a relentless advocate for indigenous data sovereignty and cultural conservation. He blends relevant expertise from biomedical science, technology, and indigenous rights into his unique perspective and work.