Genius Alert

Sometimes I accidentally come across a person I didn't know about but should have because he/she makes my life seem insignificant and pointless. Such a man would be Leonard Adleman, whose name I thought I recognized at first, with good reason. He is co-creator of the RSA encryption system, which is the standard security model for all communication over the internet these days. He's also developed the first DNA computers and coined the term "virus" in the computing sense. Take a look at his work if you're interested.