For more than 20 years Dr. Robert Buxbaum's Ferndale-based company has been designing technologies that filter hydrogen. That may not sound particularly exciting to the everyday Joe but when you consider that he has contracts with the U.S. and U.K. Navies and believes his product could have prevented the Fukushima meltdown you understand how focusing on something very small can have a very large impact.

Metro Detroit's got pickle pride! This humble, homegrown, and oh-so tasty snack has a long history in Motown, and now a new generation of briners and picklers are ready to carry the torch ... or wield the jars, as the case may be. From gherkins to kimchi to sauerkraut and all points between, food fermentation is our new black.