40. Yoky Matsuoka

Instead of playing professional tennis, Dr. Yoky Matsuoka went on to become the most educated person I’ve ever heard of, with multiple advanced degrees from MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley. She’s a MacArthur “Genius” and one of Popular Science magazine’s “Brilliant Ten.” But what matters most is the work she does combining neurobiology and cognitive science to build robotic devices for people with physical disabilities. Seattle: Neural Engineering Center Initiative.

www.chasejarvis.com/seattle100/yokymatsuoka