Tali Sharot studies why our brains are biased toward optimism.

Dolly Chugh is a social scientist of who studies the psychology of good people.

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a soil and global-change scientist and educator passionate about all things related to the science and beauty of soils.

Think of Surya Mattu as a data detective. As he writes: "I am interested in figuring out the ways in which algorithmic systems harm people."

Joy Buolamwini's research explores the intersection of social impact technology and inclusion.

TED Fellow Walé Oyéjidé combats bias with creative storytelling.

Susan Colantuono is the CEO and founder of Leading Women.

Jessica Pryce creates strategies to reduce the impact of racial bias in child protective services.

Social psychologist Emily Balcetis explores perception, motivation, goal-setting and decision-making from conscious and nonconscious levels.

Data skeptic Cathy O’Neil uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our "objective" algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias.

Detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence.

Melanie Nezer is a national leader in efforts to inform and educate individuals, institutions, elected officials and communities about refugees and asylum seekers.

With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects.

Jay Walker is fascinated by intellectual property in all its forms. His firm, Walker Digital, created Priceline and many other businesses that reframe old problems with new IT. In his private life, he's a bibliophile and collector on an epic scale.

Michael Specter is a staff writer for the New Yorker. His new book, Denialism, asks why we have increasingly begun to fear scientific advances instead of embracing them.

Magatte Wade creates jobs in Africa -- and calls attention to the obstacles to job creation on the continent.

TED Fellow Matilda Ho is shaping the startup landscape to create more sustainable food systems in China.

BCG's Philip Evans has a bold prediction for the future of business strategy -- and it starts with Big Data.

Manuel Lima studies how information can be organized -- into elegant and beautiful diagrams that illustrate the many unexpected twists of big data.

Susan Blackmore studies memes -- those self-replicating "life forms" that spread themselves via human consciousness. We're now headed, she believes, toward a new form of meme, spread by the technology we've created.

As Director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, Neil Gershenfeld explores the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds.

Kirby Ferguson explores creativity in a world where "everything is a remix."

By taking the phrase "Black Lives Matter" onto social media, Opal Tometi helped turn a hashtag into a networked movement.

Coral reef biologist