Wire Creator Among MacArthur Genius Grant Winners

Meet the 2011 fellows

(NEWSER) - When silversmith Ubaldo Vitali got the phone call, he thought it was a joke. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein nearly wrote off her email as spam. But it was neither a joke or spam: Vitali and Weilerstein are among this year’s 22 recipients of the MacArthur Foundation’s $500,000 “genius grants." Since the annual fellows are chosen through a secret process, most are shocked when they receive notification, the Wall Street Journal notes. More»

Twenty-four creative high-achievers handed $500K

(NEWSER) - "Master vocalist" Dawn Upshaw is among 24 "geniuses" awarded half a million bucks by the MacArthur Foundation today. Back from a break to treat her breast cancer, Upshaw says she hopes that "a lot of amazing music comes from it. Maybe new pieces with young singers." Other so-called "Genius Grant" recipients include a playwright, a geographer and an installation artist. More»

Journalists, scientists, artists among 24 awarded $500K grants

(AP) - A newspaper reporter who refuses to forget decades-old murders is among 24 recipients of this year's $500,000 MacArthur Foundation "genius grants." As in previous years, a wide variety of fields are represented on the list of recipients: There is a novelist and an applied physicist, a photojournalist and a molecular biologist, a painter and a biochemist, physicians and a short story writer, a bridge engineer and poet. More»

25 innovators receive this year's $500 prizes

(NEWSER) - Of the 25 recipients of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius award," 13 are scientists and eight are artists, the New York Times reports. This year, they are “people working on the very edge of discovery and people at the edge of a new synthesis,” says the foundation’s president. Among the winners:

• Tara Donovan, sculptor of drinking straws and paper clips
• Alex Ross, New Yorker music critic
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian novelist