30 Most Important Innovations from Last 30 Years

Agree or disagree, but I think you will enjoy perusing the list they came up with below. Notice how many devices have application to emergency management and homeland security today.

Also note the slotting of Social Networking at "20" on a list of 30 innovations when it has only been prevalent for less than 5-8 years. This item was shared by Mark Ballard.


Miami, FL and Philadelphia, PA (February 16, 2009)â€"To celebrate their three decades on the air, PBS' Nightly Business Report teamed up with Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to select the 30 most important innovations from the last 30 years. The results are in, and the Internet reigns supreme. Nightly Business Report will review the full list during tonight's broadcast (check local listings).

Link: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/features/special/top-30-innovations_home/

The complete results:

30. Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS Health Care
29. SRAM flash memory Electronics
28. Stents Health Care
27. ATMs Finance
26. Bar codes and scanners Retail
25. Bio fuels Biotechnology
24. Genetically modified plants Biotechnology
23. RFID and applications (e.g. EZpass) Electronics
22. Digital photography/videography Electronics
21. Graphic user interface (GUI) Computer Science
20. Social networking via internet Media
19. Large scale wind turbines Energy
18. Photovoltaic Solar Energy Energy
17. Microfinance Finance
16. Media file compression (e.g., jpeg, mpeg, mp3) Computer Science
15. Online shopping/ecommerce/auctions (e.g., eBay) Information Technology
14. GPS Systems Electronics
13. Liquid Crystal Displays Electronics
12. Light emitting diodes (first real devices in 1960s; in products in mid-70s)
11. Open source software and services (e.g., Linux, Wikipedia) Media
10. Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery (laparoscopy) Health Care
9. Office software (Spreadsheets, word processors) Computer Science
8. Fiber optics Telecommunications
7. Microprocessors Computer Science
6. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Biotechnology
5. DNA testing and sequencing/Human genome mapping Biotechnology
4. E-mail Computer Science
3. Mobile phones Telecommunications
2. PC/laptop computers Computer Science
1. Internet/broadband/WWW (browser and HTML) Telecommunications


To compile this list, thousands of nominees were submitted by Nightly Business Report viewers. The finalists were then judged according to seven different criteria determined by senior Wharton School faculty who served as judges:

1. Did it have a direct and/or material effect on quality of life?
2. Did it address a compelling need? Did it solve a compelling problem?
3. Was it a fresh, new breakthrough? Was there a "WOW" factor?
4. Did it change the way business is conducted?
5. Did it increase the efficiency of how resources are used?
6. Did it spark an ongoing stream of new innovations on top of the original innovation?
7. Did it lead to the creation of a vast, new industry?

"Knowledge@Wharton did a fine job in producing this list. Some selections are obvious, but many more are less than obvious," said Nightly Business Report Executive Editor Rodney Ward. "Many of the most important innovations which are crucial to our day-to-day lives go largely unnoticed. We hope this list inspires plenty of healthy debate."