In October, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation presented fellowships with “no strings attached” financial support to 23 individuals. According to the foundation, it selects “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits, and a marked capacity for self-direction.” Of the fellows, five work in physics-related fields. They are Christopher Chyba, Michael Dickinson, Lene Hau, Brooks Pate, and David Spergel. Each MacArthur fellow will receive $100 000 a year for the next five years.
Chyba is a planetary scientist and science policy specialist and the Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He is also codirector of the Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation and an associate professor of geological and environmental sciences at Stanford. His research focuses on reconstructing the conditions that spawned terrestrial life and exploring...