MacArthur Foundation rewards modern solutions to old problems

The timely work of Jennifer Eberhardt, a Stanford University professor whose research is helping a California police department improve its strained relationship with the black community, and Sarah Deer, a lawyer who advocates for victims of domestic abuse, are among the 21 winners of this year’s MacArthur Foundation “genius grants.” Eberhardt’s research prompted the Oakland, California, police department to ask for her help studying racial biases among its officers and how those biases play out on the street – topics that have been debated nationally in the wake of the police shooting of Michael Brown.

I hope this will show the work matters, holds value and promotes social change.

Jennifer Eberhardt, a Stanford University social psychologist on her research

Saxophonist Steve Coleman, renowned for “infusing iconic spontaneous music idioms” to forge a new sound, and physicist Danielle Bassett, who has applied mathematics to the modeling of brain connectivity, were also named on Tuesday as fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The group, which began its program in 1981 to provide money to help fund the specialized work of ambitious free-thinkers, uses anonymous nominators and selection committees to decide who gets the no-strings-attached grants, made to each recipient over a five-year period.

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