I think that Linus deserves this award not because he wrote an OS (which is no small underatking, though), but because he insisted it remain free and open so that people anywhere could modify it in any manner they needed. The use and modification of this OS on supercomputers, and the like, has indeed led to advances in many areas in the scientific community (including healthcare) that have improved peoples' lives.
Here's to Linus
Well done.