How we picked 35 of the world's top young scientists and engineers

How we picked 35 of the world's top young scientists and engineers Our 2026 Innovators Under 35 list will be out soon. Here's what we looked for as we sifted through 550 nominations from around the world. Next month, on September 8, will reveal its 2026 list of Innovators Under 35, recognizing 35 young people from around the world who are doing groundbreaking scientific work and building clever technical fixes for sticky problems. By finding the top young innovators globally and learning what they're focused on in their work, we aim to give readers a sense of what advances to expect in the years to come. As a newsroom, we also use this exercise to help us spot rising talent and get to know some of the best early-career researchers in the fields that we cover. The editors of published the first Innovators Under 35 list in 1999, and it's become a beloved annual tradition alongside our lists of 10 Breakthrough Technologies, 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch, and (new this year) 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now .