Jeff Han holds the future in the palm of his hand. Well, more like in the tips of his fingers.  

The New York research scientist is the inventor of the “interface-free” touch-driven computer screen. Think of those crazy futuristic scenes from “Minority Report.” Han brings them to life. So far, his work has been sought after by clients ranging from film companies to hospitals to the CIA.

 Now, Han, 32, taps another achievement: He snagged a spot in the 2008 Time 100, Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Fellow list-makers include the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama and Angelina Jolie.  

As quoted in the May 12 special issue: “Multi-touch-sensing was designed to allow nontechies to do masterful things while allowing power users to be even more virtuosic,” Han says.

Watch out. The man is untouchable.