“Scientific American 50: Research Leader of the Year

RESEARCH LEADER OF THE YEAR
Angela Belcher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This eclectic investigator draws inspiration from nature’s genius for building things at the nanoscale
The crux of nanotechnology is the problem of self-assembly, getting uncooperative atoms to link and align themselves up in precise ways. We know it can be done, of course: life persists by turning molecules into complex biological machinery. How fitting, then, that one of today’s most creative materials scientists, Angela Belcher of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has turned to nature for assistance. Belcher has pioneered the use of custom-evolved viruses in synthesizing nano-scale wires and arrays, fusing different research disciplines into something uniquely her own.
… She decided that she would teach nature to work with the rest of the list. “The aim is to work our way through the whole periodic table and be able to design materials of all kinds in a controlled way. My biggest goal is to have a DNA sequence that can code for the synthesis of any useful material,” she told MIT’s Technology Review….”

http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=CA13F432-E7F2-99DF-3DD2C7F789E34178

I would also rank her ahead of Lisa Simpson, but when Lisa grows up…watch out.

Paris Hilton: 2,740,000
Lisa Simpson: 2,690,000
Marie Curie: 2,040,000
Daryl Hannah: 1,520,000

Seems like I may have fingued out thier methodolgy