The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2026 cohort of fellows on September 29, naming 20 scholars, artists and scientists who will each receive an $800,000 grant with no restrictions on how the money may be used. Often referred to as "genius grants," the fellowships are among the most prestigious and unconventional awards in American cultural and intellectual life, precisely because they come with no application process and no reporting requirements.
Recipients are chosen not by public nomination but by a network of anonymous scouts who identify candidates across a broad spectrum of fields. The foundation's stated aim is to support people who demonstrate exceptional creativity and the promise of important future work, rather than to reward past achievement alone. Because the money is unconditional, winners can use it to pursue risky projects, take time away from teaching or other employment, or simply secure the stability needed to think and create.
This year's class reflects that philosophy of range. The 20 fellows span the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, music, visual art, journalism and public health, and their work addresses topics as varied as racial inequality in the labor market, climate policy, forensic identification of migrants and the nature of human consciousness.
Several fellows are focused on the challenge of climate change, approaching it from disciplines that rarely share a stage. Sociologist Holly Jean Buck, who teaches at the University at Buffalo, examines the ethical and political dimensions of climate policy. In her 2019 book "After Geoengineering," Buck argues that systems designed to remove carbon from the atmosphere should be built to benefit local communities and the broader public interest, rather than being organized around corporate profit. Her selection signals the foundation's interest in the governance questions that accompany technological responses to global warming.
The 2026 list also includes Ellora Derenoncourt, a labor economist and economic historian who studies wage gaps between racial groups. Her research sits at the intersection of history and economics, using archival and quantitative methods to trace how long-standing disparities in pay and employment have persisted or narrowed over time. Understanding those mechanisms matters for policymakers debating minimum wage laws, antidiscrimination enforcement and tax policy, making her work relevant far beyond academic circles.
Kate Spradley, a forensic anthropologist, was recognized for her work repatriating the remains of migrants who died along the Texas-Mexico border. Her efforts combine rigorous scientific identification with a humanitarian mission, helping families learn the fate of relatives who disappeared during border crossings. That work has taken on greater urgency as deaths along the border have continued and as local authorities and communities have struggled to identify unidentified remains.
In the physical sciences, organic chemist Song Lin was among those named. Lin's research focuses on developing new chemical reactions, work that can feed into the production of medicines, materials and other products. His inclusion underscores the foundation's continuing commitment to basic science at a time when federal research funding has faced political uncertainty.
The arts are represented by figures such as Christine Sun Kim, a visual and sound artist, and Chip Thomas, a public artist. Kim's practice explores sound, language and communication, often drawing on her experience as a deaf artist to interrogate how meaning is produced and shared. Thomas, known for large-scale public works, engages communities directly through art placed in everyday spaces rather than galleries.
The foundation noted that the interests of this year's winners converge in unexpected ways. Visual and sound artist Kim, philosopher and cognitive scientist Felipe De Brigard and novelist Bryan Washington all explore questions of human connection and healing, though they work from radically different creative standpoints. De Brigard's research examines memory, imagination and the workings of the mind, while Washington's fiction has centered on family, grief and life in Houston.
One of the more unusual selections is a saxophonist whose live performances incorporate a chef preparing meals onstage, blending music with food in a format that defies easy categorization. The choice illustrates how broadly the foundation interprets the idea of creative work, extending recognition beyond traditional concert halls and recordings into hybrid, communal experiences.
Taken together, the 2026 class illustrates the foundation's long-standing bet that unconstrained support for individuals can produce outsized returns for society. The $800,000 award, paid over five years, is large enough to change a recipient's circumstances but is not tied to a specific project, institution or outcome.
Since the program began in 1981, the MacArthur Fellowships have gone to more than 1,000 people, including writers, scientists, musicians and activists who often went on to shape their fields. The awards have occasionally drawn criticism for the difficulty of measuring their impact, but the foundation has consistently defended the no-strings structure as essential to the program's purpose.
For the 2026 fellows, the announcement arrives at a moment when many institutions that support research and the arts face budget pressure and shifting public priorities. In that context, the grants offer both financial breathing room and a prominent vote of confidence from a major philanthropic organization.
The foundation's roster of winners this year also highlights a continued emphasis on work that crosses boundaries between science and justice. The pairing of figures like Spradley and De Brigard, whose work sits at the interface of science and social questions, suggests that the selection committee valued research with direct implications for how people live and are treated.
As in previous years, the full list of fellows reflects no single theme, discipline or geography. Instead, it offers a snapshot of where the foundation believes original thinking is happening, and a reminder that the most consequential work often develops far from the spotlight, sustained by curiosity rather than commissions or contracts.
(0)