John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s 2022 fellowships—known as the “genius grant” recipients—have been chosen.
Key Details
- The 2022 winners of the MacArthur genius grant have been chosen for their society-changing work in the world.
- The genius grant is an $800,000, no-strings-attached award given to talented individuals chosen by the MacArthur foundation.
- Twenty-five winners have been chosen and are going to people who have done many different acts to make the world a better place.
- The prestigious fellowships known as “genius grants” honor discipline-bending and society-changing people whose work offers inspiration and insight and the grant is an investment in their potential according to AP News writer Thalia Beaty.
Why it’s important
The winners are chosen after a multi-step process where people anonymously nominate candidates who are exceptional in the work they do. Sometimes the process takes years in the making to choose the winners.
Interestingly, the award recipients do not know that they are in the running and randomly receive a phone call with the big news.
This year’s 25 winners include…
- Jennifer Carlson – sociologist
- Paul Chan – artist
- Yejin Choi – computer scientist
- P. Gabrielle Foreman – literary historian
- Danna Freedman – synthetic inorganic chemist
- Martha Gonzalez – musician
- Sky Hopinka – artist
- June Huh – mathematician
- Moriba Jah – astrodynamicist
- Jenna Jambeck – environmental engineer
- Monica Kim – historian
- Robin Wall Kimmerer – educator, writer
- Priti Krishtel – health justice lawyer
- Joseph Drew Lanham – ornithologist, naturalist, and writer
- Kiese Laymon – writer
- Reuben Jonathan Miller – sociologist, criminologist and social worker
- Ikue Mori – electronic music composer, performer
- Steven Prohira – physicist
- Tomeka Reid – jazz cellist, composer
- Loretta J. Ross – reproductive justice and human rights advocate
- Steven Ruggles – historical demographer
- Tavares Strachan – interdisciplinary conceptual artist
- Emily Wang – primary care physician, researcher
- Amanda Williams – artist, architect
- Melanie Matchett – mathematician
“I hope that they will continue with their courage and provocation to inspire us to new places of understanding and inspiration,” says MacArthur fellows program director Marlies Carruth.
