Science News, a publication run by Society for Science & the Public president and chief executive Maya Ajmera, recently highlighted 10 scientists, including two Indian Americans, who are making their mark in the industry.

It is the fourth annual list, which focuses on early- and mid-career scientists tackling the big questions facing science and society.

The Society for Science & the Public said in a news release that the SN 10 includes scientists studying how cell movement in lungs encourages asthma; if the protein of biology can teach a materials scientist how to make self-repairing batteries; and how volcanoes can build planets, among others.

Among the group of scientists honored were Shahzeen Attari and Anshumali Shrivastava.

Each scientist included in the SN 10 was nominated by a Nobel laureate or recently elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Each year, I am more and more impressed by the scientists who are selected to this prestigious list,” said Ajmera, publisher of Science News. “These scientists are making an enormous impact. I congratulate all the members of the SN 10 class of 2018.”

Added Science News editor-in-chief Nancy Shute: “It’s not surprising that members of the SN 10 class of 2018 are looking to other disciplines to find solutions to some of our world’s grandest challenges. Today’s best scientists understand that they need to think beyond boundaries and what has been done before. There’s a fearlessness and drive that made these researchers stand out.”

Attari, 37, is an associate professor at the Indiana University at Bloomington School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where she has been since 2011.

A graduate of the University of Illinois (bachelor's), Carnegie Mellon University (master's and doctorate), Attari focuses on human behavior and resource use. Attari and her lab work on a range of research topics that span perceptions, motivations, and biases of how people understand complex systems and use natural resources.

Her work has strong links to both cognitive science and environmental science and has been published in top journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, her bio said.

Prior to working at IU, Attari was a postdoctoral fellow at the Earth Institute and the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University.

Her current research investigates systems thinking, how to use games for research and learning, ad hominem attacks on climate change researchers and factors that influence perceptions of natural resources.

Shrivastava, 33, is an assistant professor at Rice University's computer science department, where he has been since August 2015.

Prior to his time at Rice, he was pursuing his doctorate at Cornell University, which he completed in 2015. The Indian American earned his master's degree at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur. He has also served as an analytic software scientist at Fair Isaac, a position he held from 2008 through 2010 when he began his studies at Cornell.

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