Here’s what we’re looking for and how you can nominate yourself or someone you know.
We like to think of the annual 35 Innovators Under 35 competition as the flip side of our popular 10 Breakthrough Technologies list. With 10 Breakthrough Technologies, we ask: What breakthrough innovations will impact our lives over the next few years? With Innovators Under 35, we ask: Which young people are doing the most promising work in technology today, and what does that tell us about what’s coming next?
You can help us find our next group of great young innovators. Our 35 Innovators Under 35 competition for 2024 is now open for nominations. Nominations are open from now until 10:00 PM EST on Monday, January 22, 2024. Visit our FAQ page for full details.
We have published a list of young innovators every year for more than two decades now. Past winners include Andrew Ng, Feng Zhang, Joy Buolamwini, Sharon Li and Julia Joung. Many of these distinguished scientists, entrepreneurs, humanitarians and business people mention the honor of being selected prominently in their bios.
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You can ask who would be a good candidate for the list. In short, we’re looking for people doing interesting work in all areas of technology – biotechnology, artificial intelligence, climate and energy, computing, robotics, nanomaterials and any other technology area you can think of. Sometimes our winners are inventors. Others are entrepreneurs who use technology in a new or interesting way, and still others work to use technology to correct a social injustice or make life easier for people in difficult circumstances.
We like to see a certain performance. We like to be able to answer questions like: What is the innovation here? What did this person achieve that has not been done before in quite this way? How is this person working to solve a big technology problem to make a huge difference in people’s lives?
Yes, many of our graduates come from elite research universities or large companies, but this is not a requirement. We also like to feature inventors, startup founders and social activists who are using technology in creative ways to make a difference in their communities.
Does this description sound like someone you know? In that case, it’s easy to nominate someone, or to apply yourself, and you can do it right here.