Posted on September 29, 2010

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2010 'Genius Awards'

The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced the names of twenty-three new MacArthur Fellows for 2010.

Selected for their creativity, originality, and potential, the recipients of this year's "genius awards" will each receive $500,000 over five years with no strings attached. The fellowships are awarded to women and men of all ages and at all career stages and are designed to make it easier for fellows to accelerate their current activities or take their work in new directions.

This year's recipients include Amir Abo-Shaeer, a public high school physics teacher who is inspiring and preparing public high school students for careers in science and mathematics through an innovative curriculum that integrates applied physics, engineering, and robotics; Drew Berry, a biomedical animator whose scientifically accurate and aesthetically rich visualizations are elucidating cellular and molecular processes for a wide range of audiences; Carlos D. Bustamante, a population geneticist who mines DNA sequence data for insights into key questions about the mechanisms of evolution, the origins of genetic diversity, and patterns of population migration; Matthew Carter, a type designer who crafts letterforms of unequaled elegance and precision for a wide range of applications and media; Yiyun Li; a fiction writer who, through spare and understated language, explores her characters' struggles in both China and the United States; Carol Padden, a sign language linguist who focuses on the unique structure and evolution of sign languages and how they differ from spoken languages and each other; and David Simon, author, screenwriter, producer, and the creative force behind the award-winning HBO series The Wire (2002-2008), among other shows.

"This group of fellows, along with the more than eight hundred who have come before, reflects the tremendous breadth of creativity among us," said MacArthur Foundation president Robert Gallucci. "They are explorers and risk takers, contributing to their fields and to society in innovative, impactful ways. They provide us all with inspiration and hope for the future."

For the complete list of this year's MacArthur Fellows, visit the MacArthur Foundation Web site.