Poul Anderson's "Technic" stories, e.g. "The Trouble Twisters". Must re-read some. Somewhat more recent: pretty-much anything by David Brin. For my taste, a

Poul Anderson's "Technic" stories, e.g. "The Trouble Twisters". Must re-read some. Somewhat more recent: pretty-much anything by David Brin. For my taste, a lot of recent sci-fi seems to be a little too focused on politics and society vs. the exhileration of a good technical solution. But do enjoy Charles Stross and John Scalzi.