Temple Grandin

Professor of animal science and advocate for better conditions for livestock. One of the first public figures to discuss her diagnosis with autism, she created the "hug box," a device to calm autistic children.  She was diagnosed with autism when she was two and went on to attain her doctorate degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a best-selling author on the subject of animal welfare, and in 2010 she was listed in the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people