Ibn al-Haytham was an eleventh-century Muslim scholar who overcame bouts of mental illness to develop the scientific method.

Born in Basra (located in what is now Iraq) in 965, Ibn al-Haytham first studied theology, trying unsuccessfully to resolve the differences between the Shi’ah and Sunnah sects. He turned his attention to the works of the ancient Greeks, including Aristotle, Euclid, and Archimedes. He was the first person to apply algebra to geometry, founding the branch of mathematics known as analytic geometry.

He traveled to Egypt to build a dam on the Nile, failed, and was placed under house in Cairo for ten years due to his “madness.” During this time he developed the idea of systematically testing hypotheses with experiments—the core of the scientific method. He wrote more than 200 books and treatises in his lifetime.

A good biography is “Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist” by Bradley Steffens. It should be in your school or local library. You can find reviews of the book and a sample chapter at http://www.ibnalhaytham.net/

How about Leonardo Da Vinci. Obviously he was artistic, but he was also fascinated by science. As an engineer, Leonardo conceived ideas vastly ahead of his own time, conceptualising a helicopter, a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator, and the double hull, and outlining a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. As a successful artist, he was given permission to dissect human corpses. Leonardo drew many studies of the human skeleton and its parts, as well as muscles and sinews, the heart and vascular system, the sex organs, and other internal organs. He made one of the first scientific drawings of a fetus in utero.

Or try Su Song (Chinese). He was the engineer of a water-driven astronomical clock tower. Su Song also created a celestial atlas as well (in five separate maps).

norman borlaug

google him! He won the noble prize by genetically enhancing food to feed millions. Genetically enhanced food is a controversy. He’s a great humanitarian and American, so all the articles will be in English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Oppenheimer

Robert Oppenheimer, a contributor to the Manhattan Project, and a noted pacifist. Talk about conflict of interest.