Twenty-Four MacArthur Fellows for 2003 Announced by the MacArthur Foundation 10/5/2003
From: Rodney Ferguson, 202-457-8100 or 202-262-1684 (cell), e-mail: rferguson@lipmanhearne.com; or Margaret Ritsch, 202-457-8100 or 301-367-8328 (cell), e-mail: mritsch@lipmanhearne.com, both for the MacArthur Foundation CHICAGO, Oct. 5 -- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 24 new MacArthur Fellows for 2003. Each will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years. The MacArthur Fellows Program is designed to emphasize the importance of the creative individual in society. Fellows are selected for the originality and creativity of their work and the potential to do more in the future. Candidates are nominated, evaluated, and selected through a rigorous and confidential process. No one may apply for the awards, nor are any interviews conducted with nominees. This week, each new recipient first learned of being named a MacArthur Fellow during a phone call from the Foundation. "The call comes out of the blue and can be life-changing," said Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation. " The Fellowship offers highly creative people the gift of time and the unfettered opportunity to explore, create, and accomplish." Recipients this year include: -- a blacksmith exploring the expressive qualities of metal (Tom Joyce) -- a biomedical engineer employing the biophysics of noise to enhance motor control (James Collins) -- a conservation analyst underscoring the role of fresh water resources in the global economy and ecology (Peter Gleick) -- a sculptor creating exuberant, gravity-defying work (Sarah Sze) -- a biophysicist tracking the behavior of individual molecules (Xiaowei Zhuang) -- a short story writer celebrating the complexity of life's most ordinary moments (Lydia Davis) -- a gerontological nurse improving health care for older adults suffering from cancer (Sarah Kagan) -- an archaeologist providing new insights into the organization of the world's first cities (Guillermo Algaze) -- an historian writing about Egyptian identity and modern Islamic society (Eve Troutt Powell) -- a science exhibit artist illuminating the order and chaos of the natural world (Ned Kahn) A complete list of the new Fellows and their areas of activity is attached to this release. Editors: Full biographies and photos of this year's Fellows, as well as background information about the program, can be found on a password-protected web site, http://www.macarthurfellows.org. To obtain a user name and password, contact Rodney Ferguson or Margaret Ritsch at the numbers listed above. (The list of previous recipients from 1981 to 2002 can be found on the MacArthur Foundation's web site at http://www.macfound.org.) The MacArthur Fellows Program places no restrictions on how recipients may use the $500,000, and no reports are required. Rather, the stipend is an expression of confidence that the recipients know how to make best use of the Fellowship's resources and the visibility it can bring to advance their distinctive efforts. Just as there are no restrictions on how the Fellows use their awards, there are no constraints on the kinds of creativity that are recognized. "The annual announcement of the MacArthur Fellows is a special opportunity to celebrate the creative individual in our midst," said Fanton. "For over two decades, the MacArthur Fellows Program has been at the core of the Foundation's efforts to recognize and support individuals who inspire us. The new MacArthur Fellows illustrate the Foundation's conviction that talented individuals, free to follow their insights and instincts, will make a difference in shaping the future." Daniel J. Socolow, the director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, noted that "the 24 new Fellows for 2003 are men and women between the ages of 22 and 63 engaged in vastly different areas of work. What they share in common, however, is that each is highly focused, tenacious, and creative. As in past years, these Fellows are not only very good at what they do, their work is distinctively bold and original." Several hundred nominators assist the Foundation in identifying people who should be considered for a MacArthur Fellowship. Nominators, who are appointed each year and serve anonymously, are chosen from many fields of endeavor and challenged to identify people who demonstrate exceptional creativity and promise. A 12-member Selection Committee, whose members also serve anonymously, meets regularly throughout the year to review nominee files, narrow the list, and make final recommendations to the Foundation's Board of Directors. Typically, between 20 and 25 Fellows are selected each year. The MacArthur Fellows Program was the first major grantmaking initiative of the Foundation. The inaugural class of MacArthur Fellows was named in 1981. Including this year's Fellows, 659 people, ranging in age from 18 to 82, have been named MacArthur Fellow since the inception of the program in 1981. About the Foundation The year 2003 is one of particular significance for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, marking its 25th year of grantmaking. As one of the nation's largest private philanthropic foundations, MacArthur has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since it began operations in 1978, and today has assets of approximately $4 billion. The Foundation believes its grantmaking is most effective when focused upon a relatively few areas of work, combined with sufficient resources over a long enough period of time to make a measurable difference. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of new knowledge, nourishes individual creativity, helps strengthen institutions, participates in the formation of effective policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. Annual grantmaking totals approximately $175 million. The Foundation makes grants through three other programs in addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program. The Program on Human and Community Development supports organizations working primarily on national issues, including community development, regional policy, housing, public education, juvenile justice, and mental health policy. The Program on Global Security and Sustainability supports organizations engaged in international issues, including peace and security, conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive health, and human rights. The General Program supports public interest media and the production of independent documentary films. The Foundation is named for John D. MacArthur (1897-1978), who developed and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, as well as considerable property in Florida and New York. His wife Catherine (1909-1981) held positions in many of these companies and served as a director of the Foundation. ---- Complete list of MacArthur Fellows for 2003 -- Guillermo Algaze Professor of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California Age: 48 Archaeologist illuminating patterns of economic exchange between early Mesopotamian communities to provide new insights into the organization of the world's first cities -- James J. Collins University Professor, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts Age: 38 Biomedical engineer identifying abstract principles underlying complex biological phenomena such as motor control during standing and walking -- Lydia Davis Associate Professor and Writer-in-Residence, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York Age: 56 Short story writer crafting witty, experimental prose that celebrates the complexity of life's most ordinary moments and the nuances of plain, precise language -- Erik Demaine Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts Age: 22 Computational geometer tackling and solving difficult problems related to folding and bending - moving readily between the theoretical and the playful, with a keen eye to revealing the former in the latter -- Corinne Dufka Consultant Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Freetown, Sierra Leone Age: 46 Human rights champion combining skills as photojournalist and social worker to bring media attention, humanitarian aid, and legal order to Sierra Leone, one of the most war-ravaged and ignored places on earth -- Peter Gleick Co-Founder and President, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, Oakland, California Age: 46 Conservation analyst demonstrating the key role of fresh water resources at the intersection of global ecology, economy, and politics -- Osvaldo Golijov Associate Professor of Music, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts Age: 42 Composer drawing on the rhythms and melodies of his Latin and Jewish heritages to create a sense of wonder and delight at the possibilities of contemporary classical music -- Deborah Jin NIST Physicist, Fellow of JILA, JILA, Boulder, Colorado Age: 34 Physicist exploring the mysteries of quantum mechanics by cooling atoms to the lowest possible temperatures Complete list of MacArthur Fellows for 2003 (continued) -- Angela Johnson Unaffiliated, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Age: 42 Children's novelist and poet underscoring the universal in stories about adoption, care of elderly family members, and death -- Tom Joyce Unaffiliated, Santa Fe, New Mexico Age: 46 Blacksmith exploring the expressive qualities of metal, transforming the ancient craft into a 21st century art form -- Sarah H. Kagan Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 41 Gerontological nurse revising, through clinical research, mentorship, and personal example, standards and practices for delivering health care to older adults suffering from cancer -- Ned Kahn Unaffiliated, Sebastopol, California Age: 43 Science exhibit artist recasting such forces as wind, water, and fire into forms that convey both the order and chaos of the natural world -- Jim Yong Kim World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland Age: 43 Public health physician formulating new and successful models for treating and containing major diseases in the poorest regions of the world -- Nawal Nour Founder/Director, African Women's Health Practice, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts Age: 37 Physician creating the first practice in the US to address the medical and emotional needs of female immigrants who have been ritually circumcised -- Loren Rieseberg Director, Plant Sciences Program, Indiana University at Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana Age: 42 Botanist using research on sunflowers to explore the oldest and most vexing problem in evolutionary biology - how new species originate -- Amy Rosenzweig Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Age: 36 Biochemist revealing the structural basis for the metabolism of transition metals, critical cofactors in many biochemical reactions and possible source of pathology in diseases such as Alzheimer's and ALS -- Pedro A. Sanchez Director of Tropical Agriculture, Earth Institute, Columbia University Age: 62 Agronomist pioneering effective and economical solutions to problems of land productivity in some of the most arid regions of southern Africa -- Lateefah Simon Executive Director, Center for Young Women's Development, San Francisco, California Age: 26 Young women's advocate directing a distinctive program to assist troubled girls in their transition from delinquency and poverty to healthy adulthoods -- Peter Sis Unaffiliated, New York, New York Age: 54 Illustrator using watercolors, pen and ink, and oil pastels to produce works that are visually arresting and thought provoking -- Sarah Sze Unaffiliated, New York, New York Age: 34 Sculptor creating exuberant, gravity-defying work in tower-like formations that zigzag into the heights of gallery space -- Eve Troutt Powell Associate Professor of History, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia Age: 42 Historian focusing on the role of race in the social and cultural evolution of Egyptian identity and modern Islamic society -- Anders Winroth Associate Professor of Medieval History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Age: 38 Medieval historian overturning long-standing interpretations of Gratian's Decretum, one of the foundation blocks of contemporary canon and civil law -- Daisy Youngblood Unaffiliated, Santa Fe, New Mexico Age: 58 Ceramicist sculpting in clay and bronze to create contemporary forms that evoke the primitive, the timeless, and the universal -- Xiaowei Zhuang Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Age: 31 Biophysicist tracking the behavior of individual molecules to understand basic biochemical processes like enzymatic action or viral infection in diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis |