Named one of 40 “Modern Day Leonardos” by Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, Gershenfeld is an expert in quantum computation, microfluidic bubble logic, physical cryptographic functions, analogic logic integrated circuits, and additive assembly of functional digital materials. He directs MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, where researchers work at the boundary between physical science and computer science.

Ideas developed at the center have formed the basis of at least 10 startups, including Formlabs, Lyric Semiconductor, Makani Power, ThingMagic, and Kovio. Gershenfeld’s “Fab Lab” idea popularized mass customization and paved the way for the current explosion in low-cost 3D printing and other forms of digital fabrication—an idea that is now evolving toward the concept of “programmable matter,” custom-manufactured objects that can change their shape in response to information from the environment.