Arts and Culture Leaders Among Winners of MacArthur Prizes

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago, has announced the 23 recipients of its 2010 MacArthur Fellowships. Commonly referred to as the “genius awards,” the fellowships single out individuals from disparate disciplines who show creativity, originality, and the promise for continued innovative work.

Twelve women and 11 men won this year’s awards; they range in age from 30 to 72. Each fellow receives $500,000 over five years, bestowed with no strings attached. Of the group announced today, 16 fellows work at academic institutions or other nonprofit organizations.

Among the winners are two devoted to nonprofit careers in the arts and humanities: Sebastian Ruth, who founded Community MusicWorks in Providence, R.I., to promote music as a vital force in urban social change, and Jessie Little Doe Baird, who directs the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, a volunteer-run group in Mashpee, Mass., that teaches local Indians to speak their ancestral language, which ceased to be spoken around the mid-1800s.

Following are the 2010 fellows, along with their institutional affiliations and a synopsis of how the MacArthur Foundation describes their accomplishments:

Amir Abo-Shaeer, 38, director and teacher, Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, Goleta, Calif. He inspires and prepares public high-school students for science and math careers using a curriculum that integrates applied physics, engineering, and robotics.

Jessie Little Doe Baird, 46, co-founder and director, Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, Mashpee, Mass. A linguist, she studies and teaches Wampanoag (also called Wôpanâak), the Algonquian language of her ancestors, as part of an intertribal effort to revive the long-dormant language.

Kelly Benoit-Bird, 34, associate professor of biological oceanography, Oregon State University, in Corvallis. A marine biologist, she uses acoustic-engineering technology to explore the previously invisible behavior of ocean creatures and address questions about the structure and behavior of food chains.

Nicholas Benson, 46, owner and creative director, the John Stevens Shop, Newport, R.I. He is a third-generation stone carver, calligrapher, and designer known for distinctive architectural lettering by hand.

Drew Berry, 40, biomedical animator, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia. He illuminates cellular and molecular processes for a wide range of audiences through scientifically accurate, visually engaging three- and four-dimensional renderings.

Carlos D. Bustamante, 35, professor of genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Calif. He combs DNA sequence data for insights into key questions about the mechanisms of evolution, origins of genetic diversity, and patterns of population migration.

Matthew Carter, 72, co-founder and principal, Carter & Cone Type, Cambridge, Mass. A type designer, his recent work focuses on developing highly legible fonts for computer screens, including the small screens of low-resolution, handheld devices.

David Cromer, 45, theater director, New York. His interpretations of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and other staples of the 20th-century theater repertoire honor the original intention of each work while providing audiences with more psychologically complex performances than previous renderings.

John Dabiri, 30, associate professor of aeronautics and bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena. A biophysicist, he studies the hydrodynamics of jellyfish propulsion, which may contribute to applications in fluid dynamics such as blood flow in the human heart and the design of wind-power generators.

Shannon Lee Dawdy, 43, assistant professor of anthropology, University of Chicago. Her work combines archaeological scholarship with historical preservation to examine intellectual and social life in New Orleans from its establishment as a French colony to the present.

Annette Gordon-Reed, 51, professor of law, Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Mass. A legal scholar and historian, she has written extensively on Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings, examining interracial relations in the Colonial era.

Yiyun Lee, 37, assistant professor of English, University of California at Davis. She writes fiction that examines the lives of ordinary people affected by political upheaval and deep social changes in late-20th-century China.

Michal Lipson, 40, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y. She is an optical physicist working at the intersection of fundamental photonics and nanofabrication engineering to develop devices that harness the information-processing capabilities of light.

Nergis Mavalvala, 42, physics professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. Her work links optics, condensed matter, and quantum mechanics in research that improves our ability to detect and quantify gravitational radiation.

Jason Moran, 35, jazz composer and pianist, in New York. His signature works combine established classical, blues, and jazz techniques with the musical influences of his generation, including funk, hip-hop, and rock.

Carol Padden, 55, professor of communication, University of California at San Diego. A linguist, she investigates the unique structure and evolution of sign languages and how they differ from spoken languages and one another.

Jorge Pardo, 47, installation artist, Los Angeles. His works range from murals to home furnishings to collages to larger-than-life fabrications that blur the line between fine art and utilitarian design.

Sebastian Ruth, 35, founder and artistic director, Community MusicWorks, Providence, R.I. His nonprofit organization based in Providence’s West End neighborhood offers frequent performances and free musical instruction led by its house ensemble, the Providence String Quartet.

Emmanuel Saez, 37, professor of economics, University of California at Berkeley. His empirical and theoretical investigations shed light on tax policies and practices that could foster both equity and economic efficiency.

David Simon, 50, author and screenwriter, Baltimore. He draws from his background as a crime-beat reporter to craft dense narratives—including the television series Homicide: Life on the Streets and The Wire—that probe urban America’s complex realities.

Dawn Song, 35, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, University of California at Berkeley. She is a computer-security specialist who examines how the interactions of software, hardware, and networks render computer systems vulnerable to attack or interference.

Marla Spivak, 55, professor of apiculture and social insects, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, in St. Paul. An entomologist, she works to protect honeybee populations from decimation by disease while contributing to current understanding of bee biology.

Elizabeth Turk, 48, sculptor, Atlanta. She transforms her signature medium of marble into intricate, seemingly weightless works of art.