SN 10
For over a decade, Science News has written profiles of early- and mid-career scientists identified by their peers as exceptionally talented. Prior to 2025, this group was known as the SN10. In 2025, the annual tradition continues with Scientists to Watch
- Science & Society
Big questions inspire the scientists on this year’s SN 10 list
These scientists to watch study climate change, alien worlds, human evolution, the coronavirus and more.
- Anthropology
Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair
Tina Lasisi is pioneering studies of human variation in an ethical and scientifically sound way.
- Earth
Jacky Austermann looks to the solid earth for clues to sea level rise
Jacky Austermann’s work could help inform practical climate change solutions for at-risk coastal cities.
- Particle Physics
Carlos Argüelles hunts for particles beyond the standard model
Carlos Argüelles overcame hardship and discrimination to pursue a passion for physics.
- Chemistry
Josep Cornella breaks boundaries to make new and better catalysts
Josep Cornella reinvents chemical reactions essential for agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry.
- Computing
Huijia Lin proved that a master tool of cryptography is possible
Cryptographer Huijia Lin showed that the long-sought “indistinguishability obfuscation” is secure from data attacks.
- Life
Marcos Simões-Costa asks how cells in the embryo get their identities
Marcos Simões-Costa combines classic studies of developing embryos with the latest genomic techniques.
- Neuroscience
Emily Jacobs wants to know how sex hormones sculpt the brain
Emily Jacobs studies how the brain changes throughout women’s reproductive years, plus what it all means for health.
- Science & Society
How our SN 10 scientists have responded to tumultuous times
COVID-19, social justice movements and the realities of climate change have given our Scientists to Watch new perspective.
- Science & Society
This year’s SN 10 scientists aim to solve some of science’s biggest challenges
Our SN 10: Scientists to Watch for 2020 include researchers tackling wildfire smoke, teen suicide and earthquake monitoring.
- Chemistry
Brett McGuire searches space for the chemistry of life
The complex molecules Brett McGuire has discovered in interstellar space may point to the origins of carbon-based life.
- Physics
Andrea Young uncovers the strange physics of 2-D materials
Physicist Andrea Young has set his sights on the strange ways electrons behave in flat, layered structures.
