humans of the year 2017
São Paulo’s Traffic Jams Are So Bad, It Made Mariana Avezum Design a Hyperloop Pod
The 27-year-old is still motivated by the legendarily bad congestion she experienced during her youth. Now she's helping build an alternate form of transit.
The EFF’s Eva Galperin Keeps Activists Safe Online
The director of cybersecurity wants activists to remember to celebrate their wins.
The Sound of Two Black Holes Colliding Is Music to Szabolcs Marka’s Ears
“It was life-changing in the way that the world started to share our vision. The world started to believe with us.”
Tim Shields Wants You to Save Tortoises by Piloting Laser Robots With Your Phone
Our obsession with gaming might help us save some of our most vulnerable species.
Nine-Year-Old Mari Copeny Is Still Fighting For Clean Water In Flint
The fourth-grade activist has met with three US presidents, celebrities, and more in her quest to save her hometown's water supply.
Cynthia Breazeal Is Building the Droid You’re Looking For
The robotics pioneer is tackling one of the toughest engineering challenges around.
Meet the Floridian 'Riverkeeper' Fighting Back Monstrous Algae Blooms
The Indian River Lagoon has been overrun with toxic algae. Marty Baum is trying to save it.
How Microsoldering Expert Jessa Jones Repairs Unfixable iPhones
With a background in molecular genetics, the head of iPad Rehab leads a team of mostly women who fix severely damaged iPhones and iPads, even without manufacturer support.
One of the Greatest Cosmic Mysteries Was Solved By David Shoemaker’s Device
LIGO's detection of gravitational waves was an achievement comparable to Galileo’s telescope. Meet the man whose team built the detector.
Andrew Arreak Is Helping Inuit and Arctic Researchers Work Together
A community-led project called Ikaarvik prioritizes traditional Inuit knowledge.
Canan Dagdeviren Believes In Borderless, Personal Medicine
The director of a groundbreaking research group at MIT helps design lifesaving devices that mold to the individual patient.
Riverkeeper Marty Baum Is Out to Stop Florida's Algae Apocalypse
This resident of the Sunshine State is fighting an uphill battle against the governor, Congress, and public apathy, to save the lagoon he calls home.