MacArthur fellows announced

The Associated Press

The list of 24 fellows announced by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each will receive $500,000 over the next five years:

Deborah Bial, 42, founder and president, Posse Foundation, New York City. Bial's organization helps colleges identify promising high schoolers through means other than the traditional methods of grade point average and exam scores. Students then join a small group, or "posse," giving them a supportive social network once they reach campus.

Peter Cole, 50, co-founder and co-editor Ibis Editions, Jerusalem, Israel. Cole is a poet, publisher and translator who specializes in translating into English works from medieval Spain and the modern Middle East.

Lisa Cooper, 44, professor, Division of General Internal Medicine and Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Cooper is a physician who has studied the role race, ethnicity and gender play in the doctor-patient relationship.

Ruth DeFries, 50, professor, Department of Geography and Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park. DeFries is an environmental geographer who uses remote sensed satellite imagery to study how human society transforms the landscape and how that interacts with the life support system of the Earth.

Mercedes Doretti, 48, co-founder, Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, Brooklyn, N.Y. and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Doretti is a forensic anthropologist, and her group applies forensic sciences to the investigation of human rights violations.

Stuart Dybek, 65, distinguished writer in residence, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. The author of three short story collections, Dybek often tells tales set in Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods. Among his books is 2003's "I Sailed With Magellan."

Marc Edwards, 43, Charles P. Lunsford professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. Edwards' research focuses on ensuring safe drinking water and in exposing the deteriorating water-delivery infrastructure in the country's largest urban areas.

Michael Elowitz, 37, assistant professor of biology and applied physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Elowitz is a molecular biologist working to understand how genes interact.

Saul Griffith, 33, cofounding partner, Squid Labs, Emeryville, Calif. Griffith is an inventor who holds several patents in optics, textiles and nanotechnology.

Sven Haakanson, 40, executive director, Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak, Alaska. With the museum as a platform, Haakanson is working to revitalize the Alutiiq language, cultures and customs.

Corey Harris, 38, blues musician, Charlottesville, Va. A compelling singer and accomplished guitarist, Harris is part of a contemporary revival of country blues.

Cheryl Hayashi, 40, associate professor, Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside. A biologist, Hayashi research into the architecture, structure and function of spider silks could contribute to the development of new synthetic materials.

My Hang Huynh, 45, chemist, High Explosives Science and Technology Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M. Huynh's research is at the boundary of organic and inorganic chemistry and could improve the safety of miners and military workers, as well as air bag design.

Claire Kremen, 46, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. University of California, Berkeley. A conservation biologist, Kremen has led a conservation planning initiative in Madagascar's largest nature reserve.

Whitfield Lovell, 47, painter/installation artist, New York City. Lovell's work, which gives identity and dignity to anonymous black Americans depicted in old tin types, photographs and postcards, is a blend of contemporary art as well as folk and vernacular art.

Yoky Matsuoka, 36, associate professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle. Matsuoka is a leader in the field of neurorobotics and is making advances that could change the lives of those suffering from serious brain injuries.

Lynn Nottage, 42, playwright, Brooklyn, N.Y. Nottage's works include "Crumbs from the Table of Joy," "Mud River Stone," and the prize-winning "Intimate Apparel," a story of a young black seamstress in the early 20th century.

Mark Roth, 49, scientist, Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle. Roth's research into temporarily reducing metabolism could open new avenues of treatment for trauma, stroke and cancer.

Paul Rothemund, 35, senior research fellow, Department of Computer Science and Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Rothemund's research focuses on the fabrication of large molecules that reliably self-assemble into complex, programmable shapes.

Jay Rubenstein, 40, associate professor, Department of History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A medieval historian, Rubenstein's research has focused on accounts of the crusades; his essays on the literature of the crusades examines how the events effected Europe's political, religious and literary culture.

Jonathan Shay, 65, staff psychiatrist, Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, Boston, Mass. Shay's treatment of Vietnam veterans, along with two books using the ancient heroes of Achilles and Odysseus to examine the universality of wartime experiences, has deepened the understanding of the effects of combat on soldiers.

Joan Snyder, 67, painter, Brooklyn, N.Y. Over four decades, abstract painter Snyder has continually experimented with techniques and materials, inspiring a generation of artists.

Dawn Upshaw, 47, master vocalist, Bronxville, N.Y. A classically trained vocalist, Upshaw's repertoire includes the major opera roles of Mozart; the sacred works of Bach; modern works, American popular songs and new music.

Shen Wei, 39, founder and artistic director, Shen Wei Dance Arts, New York City. Shen combines Eastern traditions of Chinese opera, acrobatics and material arts with Western influences to create a unique dance language.