#14: Richard Feynman *42

Published in the Jan. 23, 2008, Issue

A Nobel laureate in physics for expanding the theory of quantum electro-dynamics, the theory of the interaction between light and matter, he changed how scientists understand the nature of waves and particles. He also did important research into particle theory and the superfluidity of liquid helium, assisted in the creation of the atomic bomb, and invented “Feynman diagrams,” a tool to calculate and conceptualize the behavior of interacting subatomic particles.