A top 40 list is a pretty ambitious endeavor, but this one at CBS News' tech blog The Green Eye (which sounds awesomely like the name of a pub) seems to do a pretty good job.  Of course, I'll take special care with the data center innovators the list included.

One of these, found in the section devoted to pioneers in electronics, is Fujio Masuoka.  He developed flash in the 80s, and thereby enabled data to be saved when its host computer has been turned off.  So in a way, this man is to thank for lots of important things, including portable devices like iPods and cell phones.  The list argues, based on Greentech Enterprise's article from July last year, that flash is about to revolutionize the data center.

Also closely IT-related on the list are Dave Ditzel and Mendel Rosenblum, both of whom developed important technologies: Ditzel is considered very responsible for shifting the focus of the IT world towards saving energy, and Rosenblum for developing the idea of virtualization.  The list notes that neither was concentrating most on power savings at first, but later that became a very desirable side-effect of their innovation.

Other interesting ones on the list include, in the grid section, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.  Thomas Edison is famous for so many incredibly important inventions, from the lightbulb even to the concept of a grid.  One of his pet ideas which didn't end up as successful as some of his others, the use of direct current, is getting popular again.  Nikola Tesla was a fascinating eccentric (see David Bowie's portrayal of him in The Prestige) and although he didn't achieve quite the fame of Edison, some of his ideas are definitely still around, for example the possibility of wireless charging.

Again, see the list for more on some of the top innovators in green technology, some of them inadvertently so and some of them technological heroes.  The stars of technology don't usually get a lot of personal attention, except at the very pinnacle of fame and wealth (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and who else?).  It's exceptionally interesting to see some of the people behind the technology we work with every day.

-Elizabeth English

photos by juanpol and Roomic Cube under flickr creative commons license

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