CHICAGO.- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 24 new MacArthur Fellows for 2003. Each will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years. The MacArthur Fellows Program is designed to emphasize the importance of the creative individual in society. Fellows are selected for the originality and creativity of their work and the potential to do more in the future. Candidates are nominated, evaluated, and selected through a rigorous and confidential process. No one may apply for the awards, nor are any interviews conducted with nominees.

This week, each new recipient first learned of being named a MacArthur Fellow during a phone call from the Foundation. "The call comes out of the blue and can be life-changing," said Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation. " The Fellowship offers highly creative people the gift of time and the unfettered opportunity to explore, create, and accomplish."

Recipients this year include: a blacksmith exploring the expressive qualities of metal (Tom Joyce); a biomedical engineer employing the biophysics of noise to enhance motor control (James Collins); a conservation analyst underscoring the role of fresh water resources in the global economy and ecology (Peter Gleick); a sculptor creating exuberant, gravity-defying work (Sarah Sze); a biophysicist tracking the behavior of individual molecules (Xiaowei Zhuang); a short story writer celebrating the complexity of life’s most ordinary moments (Lydia Davis); a gerontological nurse improving health care for older adults suffering from cancer (Sarah Kagan); an archaeologist providing new insights into the organization of the world’s first cities (Guillermo Algaze); an historian writing about Egyptian identity and modern Islamic society (Eve Troutt Powell); a science exhibit artist illuminating the order and chaos of the natural world (Ned Kahn).

The MacArthur Fellows Program places no restrictions on how recipients may use the $500,000, and no reports are required. Rather, the stipend is an expression of confidence that the recipients know how to make best use of the Fellowship’s resources and the visibility it can bring to advance their distinctive efforts. Just as there are no restrictions on how the Fellows use their awards, there are no constraints on the kinds of creativity that are recognized.

"The annual announcement of the MacArthur Fellows is a special opportunity to celebrate the creative individual in our midst," said Fanton. "For over two decades, the MacArthur Fellows Program has been at the core of the Foundation’s efforts to recognize and support individuals who inspire us. The new MacArthur Fellows illustrate the Foundation’s conviction that talented individuals, free to follow their insights and instincts, will make a difference in shaping the future."

Daniel J. Socolow, the director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, noted that "the 24 new Fellows for 2003 are men and women between the ages of 22 and 63 engaged in vastly different areas of work. What they share in common, however, is that each is highly focused, tenacious, and creative. As in past years, these Fellows are not only very good at what they do, their work is distinctively bold and original."

Several hundred nominators assist the Foundation in identifying people who should be considered for a MacArthur Fellowship. Nominators, who are appointed each year and serve anonymously, are chosen from many fields of endeavor and challenged to identify people who demonstrate exceptional creativity and promise. A 12-member Selection Committee, whose members also serve anonymously, meets regularly throughout the year to review nominee files, narrow the list, and make final recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Typically, between 20 and 25 Fellows are selected each year.

The MacArthur Fellows Program was the first major grantmaking initiative of the Foundation. The inaugural class of MacArthur Fellows was named in 1981. Including this year’s Fellows, 659 people, ranging in age from 18 to 82, have been named MacArthur Fellow since the inception of the program in 1981.