According to GeekWire, at this week’s GeekWire Gala, five 2025 Uncommon Thinkers honorees were profiled for their transformative work. Jeff Thornburg of Portal Space Systems is reviving a NASA concept for sunlight-propelled spacecraft to become the backbone of Earth-Moon logistics. Anindya Roy of Lila Biologics uses AI to design novel cancer-fighting proteins, boosting success rates from below 1% to 5-20%. Jay Graber of Bluesky is building the decentralized AT Protocol, a social network designed to let users leave. Kiana Ehsani of Vercept is developing AI agents to let people interact with computers conversationally, and Brian Pinkard of Aquagga is destroying toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” using extreme heat and pressure instead of just filtering them.
Sunlight Rockets and Protein Printers
Okay, let’s dig in. The optimism here isn’t some vague, feel-good vibe. It’s rooted in people applying hard-won expertise to old problems with new tools. Take Jeff Thornburg. He’s not just dreaming about solar sails; he’s a rocket engine vet from SpaceX and Stratolaunch looking at the messy, practical problem of orbital logistics. His pivot from “if” to “when” is classic, but the vision—protecting orbits for commerce, supporting a moon presence—feels grounded. It’s infrastructure thinking. Similarly, Anindya Roy’s work on AI-designed proteins is staggering because of the before-and-after he witnessed. Going from a 1% success rate, which is basically throwing darts in the dark, to 5-20% is a paradigm shift. It turns drug discovery from a lottery into a structured engineering problem. That’s not just hopeful; it’s a different industry.
Stewards, Not Dictators
Maybe the most refreshing perspective came from Jay Graber at Bluesky. In a tech landscape dominated by walled gardens and engagement algorithms, she’s literally building a protocol where the goal is to let people leave. Think about that. She describes her role as guiding a “collective organism,” not controlling an empire. That’s a radical departure from the Silicon Valley playbook. It’s a recognition that real resilience and innovation might come from ecosystems you don’t own, which is a humbler, and arguably smarter, long-term bet. Her comment about leaders being guides rather than dictators feels like a direct critique of the era we’re just exiting.
The Skeptics Solving Toxic Problems
On the gritty, physical-world side, Brian Pinkard’s work at Aquagga is a masterclass in skeptical science. PFAS are a nightmare—they’re everywhere, and the standard “solutions” are just moving the problem from water to landfill or air. Using tech designed for chemical weapons to break them down into inert salts? That’s the kind of cross-disciplinary hammer you need for a nail this tough. His description of trucking wastewater to be burned as “thermodynamic insanity” is perfect. It calls out the sheer wastefulness of our current systems. And Kiana Ehsani’s pragmatic take on AI agents is crucial. Everyone’s hyped about agents, but she brings it back to reality: “Think of ChatGPT three years ago.” Start small, automate a boring task, and see the magic build. That’s how real adoption happens, not with grand pronouncements.
Grounded Optimism
So why the unexpected optimism? It’s because these aren’t just dreamers. They’re practitioners with a steward’s mindset. Thornburg wants to build a backbone. Graber wants to steward a protocol. Pinkard, a self-proclaimed skeptic, wants to end insanity. Roy and Ehsani are leveraging AI not for chatbots, but for tangible outcomes—drugs and useful assistants. The thread is a focus on foundational systems, whether it’s orbital transport, social media protocols, or waste processing. That’s the kind of work that builds a future that’s actually functional. It’s a welcome change from the hype cycle, and honestly, it feels more substantial. You can hear the full conversations on the GeekWire Podcast.
