Macarthur Fellowships

The good news reached them all in different ways. Ed Hutchins was in a meeting of the Navy's Future Technologies Group in San Diego when somebody handed him a message that said that "the Mikado Foundation" had called. Not being a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, Hutchins didn't rush out to return the call--until his wife broke into the meeting with another message and the correct name.

Two Caltech researchers, two Los Angeles artists and a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at the Getty Trust are among 24 people who received this year's so-called genius grants awarded by the MacArthur Foundation. Three other Californians also received the awards, the state thereby accounting for a full third of the recipients. Each of the 24 fellows will receive $500,000 over the next five years to use any way they want--no strings attached.

Three Caltech scholars who answered the phone recently received the kind of news many scientists desire but few dare expect--they had been secretly nominated, discussed and finally awarded MacArthur Foundation fellowships. They were among 31 fellows in the United States and Europe announced Monday, and will divide--no strings attached--$875,000. In addition to the Caltech academics, the winners include historian Taylor Branch and documentary filmmaker Marcel Ophuls.

Three months ago, David Wilson's cell phone rang in the middle of a meeting at his one-of-a-kind establishment, the Museum of Jurassic Technology. He was talking planning with Kelly Coyne, the museum's administrative director. "It was a pretty down period, and we were trying to figure out how we were going to get through November," he says. "Financially, every month is a juggling act. We get to places where we're OK for two or three months but then it goes back to week-to-week.

A tuna biologist from Monterey, a voting rights attorney from Fremont, a social historian from San Francisco and a playwright who distilled all the voices of the Los Angeles riots into one compelling drama felt the touch of a magic financial wand Monday. Once again, a new crop of MacArthur Fellowships--the coveted, six-figure financial awards that carry no criteria or parameters--have been bestowed upon an eclectic group of thinkers, scholars and artists.

Shawn Carlson, a physicist and stay-at-home dad, was spooning food into his baby's mouth last week when the phone rang in his San Diego apartment. He answered and learned he had won a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship--$290,000 and five years of free health insurance, with no strings attached. When his wife got home they rushed out to buy the double stroller they've been wanting but couldn't afford. They are expecting their second child in six weeks and their income last year was $12,000.

When the MacArthur Foundation tracked down Ken Vandermark by phone last June to inform him he had won one of its "genius grants," the Chicago avant-gardist was in no mood to talk. Midway through an East Coast tour, he and his Vandermark 5 had just driven for hours through torrential rain to a show in Chapel Hill, N.C. His nerves shot, he was busy unloading equipment--and perhaps dreading another night sleeping on someone's floor, a common arrangement for the band's self-financed jaunts.

Two Caltech researchers, two Los Angeles artists and a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at the Getty Trust are among 24 people who received this year's so-called genius grants awarded by the MacArthur Foundation. Three other Californians also received the awards, the state thereby accounting for a full third of the recipients. Each of the 24 fellows will receive $500,000 over the next five years to use any way they want--no strings attached.

Three months ago, David Wilson's cell phone rang in the middle of a meeting at his one-of-a-kind establishment, the Museum of Jurassic Technology. He was talking planning with Kelly Coyne, the museum's administrative director. "It was a pretty down period, and we were trying to figure out how we were going to get through November," he says. "Financially, every month is a juggling act. We get to places where we're OK for two or three months but then it goes back to week-to-week.

They didn't ask for the honor or the money, and that makes their prize all the sweeter. A Pasadena-born science fiction writer, a former teen-age runaway turned filmmaker and a UCLA musicologist were among five California women who were named geniuses Monday--rich geniuses. They are among this year's 24 recipients of MacArthur Foundation fellowships, often called "genius awards," recognizing individuals who have made original contributions to fields ranging from theater to neuroscience.

When the MacArthur Foundation tracked down Ken Vandermark by phone last June to inform him he had won one of its "genius grants," the Chicago avant-gardist was in no mood to talk. Midway through an East Coast tour, he and his Vandermark 5 had just driven for hours through torrential rain to a show in Chapel Hill, N.C. His nerves shot, he was busy unloading equipment--and perhaps dreading another night sleeping on someone's floor, a common arrangement for the band's self-financed jaunts.

Shawn Carlson, a physicist and stay-at-home dad, was spooning food into his baby's mouth last week when the phone rang in his San Diego apartment. He answered and learned he had won a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship--$290,000 and five years of free health insurance, with no strings attached. When his wife got home they rushed out to buy the double stroller they've been wanting but couldn't afford. They are expecting their second child in six weeks and their income last year was $12,000.

A tuna biologist from Monterey, a voting rights attorney from Fremont, a social historian from San Francisco and a playwright who distilled all the voices of the Los Angeles riots into one compelling drama felt the touch of a magic financial wand Monday. Once again, a new crop of MacArthur Fellowships--the coveted, six-figure financial awards that carry no criteria or parameters--have been bestowed upon an eclectic group of thinkers, scholars and artists.

They didn't ask for the honor or the money, and that makes their prize all the sweeter. A Pasadena-born science fiction writer, a former teen-age runaway turned filmmaker and a UCLA musicologist were among five California women who were named geniuses Monday--rich geniuses. They are among this year's 24 recipients of MacArthur Foundation fellowships, often called "genius awards," recognizing individuals who have made original contributions to fields ranging from theater to neuroscience.

Three Caltech scholars who answered the phone recently received the kind of news many scientists desire but few dare expect--they had been secretly nominated, discussed and finally awarded MacArthur Foundation fellowships. They were among 31 fellows in the United States and Europe announced Monday, and will divide--no strings attached--$875,000. In addition to the Caltech academics, the winners include historian Taylor Branch and documentary filmmaker Marcel Ophuls.

The good news reached them all in different ways. Ed Hutchins was in a meeting of the Navy's Future Technologies Group in San Diego when somebody handed him a message that said that "the Mikado Foundation" had called. Not being a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, Hutchins didn't rush out to return the call--until his wife broke into the meeting with another message and the correct name.

Artists' colonies around the nation, including three in Northern California, are the latest recipients of the largess of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In an unusual initiative announced Thursday, the Chicago-based foundation awarded a total of more than $2.5 million to 18 artists' retreats and residences in 10 states.

The Intel? On the same day last week that Intel Corp. announced that its chief executive title would be passed from Andy Grove to Craig Barrett, the chip-making giant was in the midst of another landmark transition. The Santa Clara, Calif., company became the title sponsor for the Science Talent Search, which bestows scholarships that are often considered the Nobel Prize of high school science competitions.