• Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace: Wrote the first computer program in history.
• Alexey Pajitnov: Computer engineer and developer of Tetris.
• Mary Shelley: Famous science fiction author who raised important questions about science and morality.
• Rosalind Elsie Franklin: Contributed to the modern understanding of DNA structure. Could have been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Ernő Rubik: Architect and inventor of the Rubik's Cube

I have two good potential sources:

People who are more famous for other reasons, but are also inventors:

IE: Charles Lindbergh - helped invent an artificial heart for his dying sister-in-law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh#Scientific_activities

Scientists from defeated countries, such as Imperial Japan and Cold War - era Russia(not really their fault their government wasn't in line with morality, but many fell into obscurity because of it):

IE: Vladimir Arlazarov, created first World Computer Chess Champion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Arlazarov

Yvonne Brill: major innovator in the field of hydrazine monopropellant thrusters, which seems appropriate

Abdul Qadeer Khan: nuclear physicist and mettalurgist, leader in Pakistan's program to develop nuclear weapons, also heavily involved in 20th century nuclear proliferation. Transcendence is set in a galaxy where nuclear weaponry is ubiquitous.

Orban or Urban: late medieval siege engineer from Eastern Europe, designed and built archcannons for the Ottoman empire.

Hypatia of Alexandria: classical female polymath, an astronomer & inventor.

Gersonides or Rabbi Levi: medieval mathematician, astronomer; used parallax to determine that the stars were distant on the magnitude of light years; incidentally attempted to reconcile astrology, divine revelation and free will which is a theme in Transcendence

Here a great scientist from my country.
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (also known as BJ. Habibie) is a physics (but most spend to aerospace) scientist and inventor that ever become a 3rd President of Indonesia Republic! He also ever work as a Vice President and Minister.

He has invented mostly Aircraft, and also are designer of military vehicle Transall C-130, CN-235, N-250, and N-2130; BO-105 helicopter, fighter jet, some missile and satelite project.

I would request that we try to manage gender parity (or at least "close enough")

Here's a few from me, and I'm aware these are pretty much all europeans or americans (plus a few token New Zealanders) (I'm not all that good with my names). Since there'll be plenty of names to pick and choose from for the final cut, I have included some more humorous or less known ones:

Hedy Lamarr (Yes that one): Invented frequency-hopping-spread-spectrum technology 20 years before anyone else managed to put it to use.

Ada Lovelace: I know Archcannon's already put her up, but just...you know. Ada Lovelace.

Rosalind Franklin: Did most of the hard work to discover DNA.

Sir Isaac Newton: (Re)discoverer of calculus, inventor of gravity. Also a firm believer in the occult, but nevermind eh?

Ferdinand von Zeppelin: Invented the rigid airship. Very reluctantly let one of his staffers found the first commercial airline using said airships.

Stephanie Kwolek: Noted organic chemist. Invented Kevlar.

Antoine Lavoisier: Widely considered the founder of modern chemistry.

Thomas Midgley Jr.: Invented leaded petrol (which gave him and many others lead poisoning), several of the first chlorofluorocarbons (which gave us holes in the ozone layer), and an ingenious device to aid his mobility after suffering from polio (which, regrettably, ended up killing him after he got tangled in it).

Mária Telkes: Solar energy pioneer, made the first thermoelectric power generator and refrigerator.

James Watt: Major pioneer of steam engine technology (though not its inventor)

Philippe de Girard: Invented the tin can.

William Soltau Davidson: Pioneered (albeit with help from several employees who did a lot of the work)refrigerated shipping of meat in the 1880's.

A J Hackett: Invented modern bungie jumping.

Archibald McIndoe: Revolutionised plastic surgery and skin graft technology during WW2.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky: Did a lot of the theoretical work that lead to modern rocketry. Founder father of space tech (together with Oberth and Goddard)

Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta the inventors of polypropylene and the catalysts to prepare all the modern plastic.

Vera Rubin First astronomer to make observations on galaxies that would lead to dark matter theory.

Cecilia Payne one of the first astrospectroscopy astronomer. Her conclusions on the composition of the sun were revolutionary (and correct). Henry Norris Russell suggested her to NOT publish her discoveries, and then went to publish himself THE SAME RESULTS totally stealing from her.

Ida Tacke nuclear physicist. She was ahead of her time. discovered the elements rhenium and technetium. She also wrote a paper about nuclear fission using neutron bombardment 4 years before Enrico Fermi. She also inspired Lise Meitner about nuclear fission, and Lise got her discoveries stolen from her when she was not included in the nobel prize of 1944

Stephanie Kwolek Inventor of Kevlar

and nobody said Tim Berners-Lee inventor of the web !!

Jocelyn Bell Burnell - Discovered pulsars (another Nobel controversy)
Mária Telkes - solar energy technologies
Mary Anderson - windshield wiper
Olga D. González-Sanabria - ISS batteries
Josephine Cochrane - Dishwasher
Katharine Burr Blodgett - low reflectance coatings

See also National Inventors Hall of Fame (although US centric)

Thanks for all your suggestions! In 1.8 Alpha 3, I've added the following new Tinkers:

Tinker Brill
Tinker Curie
Tinker Hopper
Tinker Hypatia
Tinker Kwolek
Tinker Orban
Tinker Tsiolkovsky
Tinker Telkes

I would also like to add some inventors/scientists for future inventions. I've come up with two, but we'll add more over time:

Chandi Anand: Developed the ubiquitous ROM biosoft technology. Her parents were wealthy shareholders in the Corporate Hierarchy (in the early 23rd century), but she decided to go into science and engineering, against their wishes.

Eileen Vorster: Invented the first true shield generator in 22nd century. The original model was only used on small stations (too large to defend ships), but later refinements shrank it down.