CT Scientist Gets $800,000 MacArthur Fellow 'Genius Grant'

CONNECTICUT — A 39-year-old evolutionary biologist from New Haven is among 22 new recipients of prestigious fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation known as “genius grants.”

Each of the fellows will receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want. The fellows do not apply, and are not interviewed for or made aware of the award until it is announced. Instead, fellows are nominated and endorsed by their peers and communities through an open, years-long process overseen by the foundation.

Martha Muñoz, Connecticut's sole honoree, is an evolutionary biologist investigating the factors that influence rates and patterns of evolution. Her research with reptiles, amphibians, and fishes has challenged conventional views on the biomechanics of evolution. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, and an assistant curator in the Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum and affiliate faculty at the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies.

While each class is never an immediate response to any particular moment, sometimes themes do emerge, Marlies Carruth, director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, told The Associated Press.

“We have to see at least the variety and the strength and the number of nominations in the literary arts space as a response to the zeitgeist, the desire to tell stories and resurrect certain stories that have not been told,” said Carruth.

The foundation looks for people who will be “enabled” by the award, meaning they have both a track record of work but also the potential to produce additional extraordinary work, Carruth said.

The foundation also strives to support people who collaborate and invest outside of their specific discipline.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.