CHICAGO (AP) - People from a wide range of fields are among this year’s MacArthur fellows . The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation on Thursday named 25 people, including academics, activists, artists, scholars and scientists, who will receive $625,000 over five years to use as they please. The Chicago-based foundation has awarded the so-called “genius grants” each year since 1981 to help further the pursuits of people who have shown outstanding talent. The 2018 fellows are:
Matthew Aucoin: Composer, conductor and artist-in-residence, Los Angeles Opera.
Julie Ault: New York City artist and curator.
William J. Barber II: Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Clifford Brangwynne: Biophysical engineer and associate professor, Princeton University.
Natalie Diaz: Associate Professor, Department of English, Arizona State University.
Livia S. Eberlin: Assistant professor Department of Chemistry, University of Texas-Austin.
Deborah Estrin: Computer scientist and professor, Department of Computer Science, Cornell Tech.
Amy Finkelstein: Health economist, professor of economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gregg Gonsalves: Global health advocate, assistant professor of epidemiology, Yale University.
Vijay Gupta: First violin, Los Angeles Philharmonic, co-founder and artistic director of Street Symphony.
Becca Heller: New York lawyer, co-founder of International Refugee Assistance Project.
Raj Jayadev: Co-founder Silicon Valley De-Bug, San Jose, California.
Titus Kaphar: Painter, founder and president NXTHVN, New Haven, Connecticut.
John Keene: Writer, Department of African American and African Studies, Rutgers University.
Kelly Link: A Northampton, Massachusetts writer.
Dominique Morisseau: Playwright, Signature Theatre, New York City.
Okwui Okpokwasili: Choreographer and performer, New York City.
Kristina Olson: Associate professor, Department of Psychology, University of Washington.
Lisa Parks: Professor, comparative media studies and writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rebecca Sandefur: Legal scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois.
Allan Sly: Professor, Department of Mathematics, Princeton University.
Sarah T. Stewart: Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis.
Wu Tsang: New York City filmmaker and performance artist.
Doris Tsao: Neuroscientist and professor of biology, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology.
Ken Ward Jr.: Investigative journalist, Charleston Gazette-Mail, West Virginia.
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