The 2006 Trendsetters List

The former chief executive of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority resigned Aug. 15 after structural flaws in Boston's Big Dig highway project led to the death of a driver.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research program manager approved a $25,000 grant to the American Film Institute to train scientists to write screenplays, hoping to improve the image of engineers and scientists as portrayed in movies. The Air Force also is providing $100,000 annually to boost interest in the sciences.

The Bush administration's $2.7 trillion fiscal year 2007 budget cuts funding for transportation programs, especially for rural areas. Overall, the budget is 4% less than fiscal year 2006, with the largest cuts coming from clean-water projects.

As director of the center of natural resource economics and policy at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, he has researched and worked to educate the public on coastal and wetland conservation. He received the 2006 Coastal Stewardship Award from the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; the Louisiana Wildlife Federation also recognized him last year.

Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter

As president/CEO of Def Jam Records, he teamed with the United Nations and MTV to draw attention to the worldwide water crisis during his international concert tour. The rapper also plans to build 1000 play pumps—rudimentary merry-go-rounds that pump water from wells into storage tanks as they spin—in Africa.

City officials were prosecuted for awarding jobs to private truck owners who were either political supporters or had ties to city employees. Some truck owners allegedly paid bribes to get into the program. The Hired Truck Scandal calls into question the procedures cities use to fill jobs and award contracts.

The largest potable ultrafiltration plant in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world, it was named Project of the Year in the 2006 Global Water Awards. Minneapolis Water Works contracted Black & Veatch to design and construct the $65 million facility.

The group—led by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Randy Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), and Mary Bono (R-Calif.)—builds support for national e-waste reduction legislation. So far, only Washington, Maine, California, and Maryland have e-waste laws.

This 9-year-old from Franklin, Ind., started a program to create new benches made of recycled material. She worked to get a $3200 grant from the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development, and organized the placement of recycling bins around the town where she collected bottles that were used to make the benches.

U.S. Representative (D-Ore.) who granted funding for the West Eugene Wetlands Education Center, which will be the first LEED-certified building in Eugene.

Program director of vehicle engineering for the U.S. Postal Service, whose department researches and uses biodiesel fuel to significantly reduce petroleum usage in postal vehicles.

Andres Duany

His Miami-based architectural firm Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. introduced SmartCode, a unified land development code; several hurricane-stricken municipalities have adopted it to promote sustainable redevelopment.

John Duncan Jr.

The U.S. Representative (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation that would create the Water Trust Fund, which would provide $7.5 billion from 2006 to 2010 to fund research and improvements at wastewater plants nationwide.

Computer manufacturers CTL, Dell, and HP are making products that meet the new EPEAT green computer standard. The computers have reduced levels of cadmium, lead, and mercury and are more energy-efficient and easy to upgrade and recycle.

As associate professor of civil engineering at the University of New Mexico, she has created nine new courses, including Women Engineering the Future for female freshmen.