23 Fellows Announced by MacArthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago, has announced 23 new MacArthur Fellows.

Recipients of the fellowships, often called “genius awards,” are free to use the money as they wish.

The foundation does not require them to produce any products or reports.

No one can apply for a MacArthur Fellowship. The foundation taps several hundred people to serve anonymously as nominators for the program. A 12-member selection committee then recommends candidates to the foundation’s Board of Directors.

Each fellow receives $500,000 over five years. The foundation also offers recipients health insurance.

Including this year’s group, the foundation has named a total of 611 fellows since the program began in 1981.

Following are the 2001 fellows:

Danielle Allen, 29, associate professor, department of classical languages and literatures and department of politics, University of Chicago. A scholar who focuses on the classics, philosophy, and political theory, she has demonstrated that the legal foundations of punishment in ancient Athens were rooted in classical attitudes toward anger and revenge.

Andrea Barrett, 46, novelist, Rochester, N.Y., and an instructor at the MFA Program for Writers, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, N.C. She uses science and history to inform her fictional portrayals of scientific researchers, both professional and amateur, and her novels combine biography, science, historiography, and storytelling.

Christopher Chyba, 41, chair of the SETI Institute, co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, and associate professor of geological and environmental sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. An astrobiologist and policy analyst, Mr. Chyba’s scientific work focuses on reconstructing the conditions that spawned terrestrial life on earth and exploring other objects in the solar system for crucial similarities and differences.

Michael Dickinson, 39, professor of integrative biology, University of California at Berkeley. He is a biologist whose research focuses on insect flight, a complex animal activity that has direct application to aeronautical engineering explorations of movable-wing flying devices.

Rosanne Haggerty, 41, founder and executive director, Common Ground, New York. A real-estate entrepreneur, Ms. Haggerty established this nonprofit housing development and management organization, which provides innovative housing options for homeless adults while simultaneously restoring historic properties and revitalizing neighborhoods.

Lene Hau, 41, professor of applied physics and professor of physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. An optical physicist, Ms. Hau’s research has extended human ability to control light and has enhanced understanding of the fundamental interactions of light and matter.

Dave Hickey, 62, professor of art theory and criticism, University of Nevada at Las Vegas. An art critic and historian focusing on Western culture, he offers interpretations and analyses of contemporary art in essays aimed at both academic and general audiences.

Stephen Hough, 39, concert pianist, New York and London. He has charted an unusual course for his career, reducing his visibility among the general public and seeking out works from lesser-known composers of the past as well as challenging new compositions that expand traditional concepts of the piano.

Kay Redfield Jamison, 55, professor of psychiatry, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. A leading expert on serious mood disorders, her writing, teaching, and clinical research on manic-depression have influenced treatment, patient support and advocacy, and public awareness of psychiatric disorders.

Sandra Lanham, 53, founder and director, Environmental Flying Services, Tucson. A pilot and conservationist, Ms. Lanham fosters cross-border collaborations to protect sensitive and threatened habitats in North America.

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, 40, associate professor, College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago. He is an artist who uses photography, video, sound, and sculpture to create works that explore the topics of personal identity and community.

Cynthia Moss, 61, director, Amboseli Elephant Research Project, Amboseli National Park, Kenya. She has spent more than three decades studying the ecology and social behavior of wild African elephants in Kenya, providing key insights into the evolution of elephant behavior and the complex ways in which animals respond to changes in their environment.

Dirk Obbink, 44, lecturer in papyrology and Greek literature, University of Oxford, and fellow and tutor in Greek, Christ Church College, Oxford, England. A scholar of the classics whose work focuses on papyrology, he is an expert in rescuing damaged texts and interpreting the words of ancient authors for modern readers.

Norman Pace, 59, professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, University of Colorado at Boulder. A biochemist who explores the interrelationship of biochemical and evolutionary processes, he pioneered the use of molecular genetic techniques to identify microbe species.

Suzan-Lori Parks, 38, playwright and director of the A.S.K. Theater Projects Writing for Performance Program, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia. A playwright who challenges traditional notions about the African-American experience, her work reveals the role that drama plays in shaping and propagating assumptions about race and culture.

Brooks Pate, 36, professor of chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Mr. Pate is a physical chemist whose work on the chemical reactions of molecules has led to a greater understanding of high-energy chemistry.

Xiao Qiang, 39, executive director, Human Rights in China, New York. Since 1991 he has directed this organization, which issues reports on human-rights violations by the Chinese government and has been a leader in promoting the cause of human rights both within and outside China.

Geraldine Seydoux, 37, assistant professor of molecular biology and genetics, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. A developmental biologist, her research has provided key insights into a complex biological process: creating a fully formed adult animal from a single cell and then repeating the process in the next generation.

Bright Sheng, 45, professor of music, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. A composer, conductor, and pianist, he merges Eastern and Western elements, lyrical and dissonant styles, and historical and contemporary themes in his compositions.

David Spergel, 40, professor of astrophysical sciences, Princeton University, N.J. His wide-ranging research deals with many topics in astrophysics, including the role of dark matter in the creation of the Milky Way and the early history of galactic formations.

Jean Strouse, 56, biographer, New York. A writer best known for her accounts of the lives of Alice James and J.P. Morgan, she combines cultural analysis, historical research, and psychological investigations to create portraits of her subjects.

Julie Su, 32, litigation director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Los Angeles. Ms. Su is a public-interest lawyer who has broken new legal ground through lawsuits designed to protect undocumented immigrant garment workers, focusing attention on the human and legal dimensions of the abuses of immigrant laborers.

David Wilson, 55, founder and proprietor, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Culver City, Calif. An artist and inventor, Mr. Wilson created this museum, an art installation and commentary on how humans organize and archive cultural artifacts.