Articles

“I always knew strongly who I was and what I was supposed to do,” says Wiki (here at the mouth of the Klamath River on the Yurok Indian reservation in Northern California).

Making the Grade

Yurok Indian Geneva Wiki is helping other young Native Americans "develop their best selves"

With his own record label, Sufjan Stevens is “one of the indie world’s most eccentric and personal songwriters,” says Rolling Stone.

One Man Band

The next Bob Dylan? Maybe. Sufjan Stevens' honest sound and stark lyrics speak volumes to a new generation. And he plays all the instruments

“I still get absolutely shocked,” says Spektor (in London in February 2006) of her rising popularity, “and that a very particularly amazing feeling.” Her virtuosity and singular style are attracting legions of fans, both mature and teen.

Russian Idol

Moscow-born Regina Spektor draws on classical music roots to create and perform pop songs of rare originality

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Painting the Edge

With an eye for despoiled landscapes, Lisa Sanditz captures the sublime

“I do think there’s a lot of good writing now on TV,” says Ruhl. “I loved ‘Six Feet Under,’ for example. But writing plays is my first passion. So far, I’m very happy in the theater.”

Wild Woman

Playwright Sarah Ruhl speaks softly and carries a big kick

“He’s changed the whole environment,” a fellow educator says of Gonzalez (at Middle School 223, March 2007). Though many of his students come from poor or unstable homes, “he’s shown that all kids can read, all kids can write.”

Organizing Principal

In the South Bronx, Ramón Gonzalez gives a troubled middle school a kidcentric makeover

"We must have run up and down that street 300 times," recalls co-star Carol Lawrence (with Larry Kert).

West Side Glory

Out of Hell's Kitchen came an image that would epitomize one of Broadway's greatest love stories

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Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences

Take a look at 37 people under the age of 36 who are shaping the world through their talents in the arts and sciences

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The Big Picture

Political historian Jeremi Suri has come up with a new way of looking at the links between the low and the mighty

Why does the human immune system sometimes fail to thwart invaders? John Wherry is trying to find out, the better to design a more effective flu vaccine.

Flu Fighter

With a possible pandemic in our future, immunologist John Wherry is racing to develop a once-a-lifetime vaccine

“His scientific contributions are joyful, spark curiosity and inspire the young,” computer scientist Jeannette Wing says of her colleague Luis von Ahn (on the Carnegie Mellon campus, seated upon one of the “guest chairs” he keeps in his office).

The Player

Luis von Ahn's secret for making computers smarter? Get thousands of people to take part in his cunning online games

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Down to Earth

Anthropologist Amber VanDerwarker is unraveling the mysteries of the ancient Olmec by figuring out what they ate

Tao, 32, does mathematic both pure and practical—from proving that prime number patterns come in every conceivable shape to deriving solutions needed for the next generation of digital camera and MRI scanners.

Primed for Success

Terence Tao is regarded as first among equals among young mathematicians, but who's counting

“I wanted to build something that grows from large to huge,” Schachter (at Yahoo!’s Palo Alto office) told the Guardian. “I don’t know if I have another innovation in me, but it would be nice to try.”

Site Seer

Faced with the Internet's overwhelming clutter, Joshua Schachter invented a deceptively simple tool that helps us all cut to the chase

There’s a misperception about prejudice, says Richeson, that “people do bad things because they’re bad people, and there are only a few of these bad apples around.” All of us have prejudices, she adds, but we also have the capacity to change.

The Bias Detective

How does prejudice affect people? Psychologist Jennifer Richeson is on the case

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High Scorer

Composer Nico Muhly wowed them at Carnegie Hall and the New York Public Library

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Keeper of the Keys

Pianist Jason Moran laces his strikingly original music with the soulful sounds of jazz greats

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Civil Wrongs

In a painstaking study of 1960s Atlanta, Kevin Kruse takes suburban whites to task

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Net Worker

Where are your friends in cyberspace? Closer than you might think, says Internet researcher Jon Kleinberg

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Signs of Life

Astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger analyzes light from distant stars for evidence we're not alone

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