Five creative scholars win MacArthur ‘genius grants’

The fellowships, often referred to as “genius grants,” were given to three alumni of the graduate school, Susan Mango GS ’90, Marin Soljacic GS ’00 and John Ochsendorf GS ’98, as well as to Chimamanda Adichie, a 2005-06 Hodder Fellow at the Lewis Center for the Arts, and Alex Ross, currently a McGraw professor of writing.

This year’s 25 recipients were chosen based on “their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future,” according to the statement. The fellows will each receive $500,000 over the course of five years, with no restrictions on the use of the funds.

Soljacic was driving to pick up his son from school last Tuesday when he received the call from Daniel Socolow, diwector of the MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program.

Socolow asked Soljacic if he was alone, and then “and he told me to pull over because he didn’t want me to get hurt,” Soljacic said. Socolow then explained the fellowship program and the details of the award.

Soljacic, an MIT physics professor, focuses his research on nanophotonics, a branch of nanotechnology that examines the manipulation of light at very small scales.

Ross said that he was also caught off guard, explaining that he had repeatedly ignored calls from a Chicago-area code number that he did not recognize. The MacArthur Foundation tracked him down, however, by contacting him at his office. “When I found out, I was completely blown away,” Ross said.

Ross, who is not yet sure what he will do with the grant, works as a classical music critic for The New Yorker and is teaching JRN 447: Writing about Culture: Beyond High and Low this semester.

“I try very hard in my writing to place music in a broader cultural context,” he said, adding that he wants “to make the music comprehensible to a wider audience.”

Ochsendorf, who studied Japanese suspension bridges for his graduate work at the University, now works as a professor of building technology at MIT. His work focuses on evaluating the engineering and safety of old buildings and studying the history of building construction.

Ochsendorf said he believes the grant is a validation that he made the right choice in choosing to pursue his interest in history alongside his work in engineering. “This is the ultimate vote of confidence that you should follow your passions,” he said.

Adichie and Mango could not be reached for comment. Adichie is a writer whose current work focuses on the experience of Nigerian immigrants in the United States. Mango is a professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah.

Ochsendorf, Soljacic and Ross all agreed that one of the main appeals of the award is the lack of restrictions on using the money.

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“The great thing about the grant is that it comes with no strings attached,” Soljacic explained. “It allows researchers to try to do far-out things, since more unusual ideas are harder to get funding for.”

The selection process is highly secretive. Confidential pre-selected nominators from a variety of fields nominate individuals who have demonstrated a high degree of creativity in their work. Nominees, however, are kept in the dark during the process while the nominees’ work is evaluated by committees of experts in their respective fields. The selection committees select at most 30 finalists from hundreds of nominations.