MacArthur Fellows named

Among the newly announced crop of 25 MacArthur Fellows are a children's book writer, a jazz violinist, and a sculptor. As usual, several scientists also made the cut, and three of them are molecularly inclined. MIT bioengineer Linda G. Griffith was recognized for creating 3-D polymer substrates for growing and organizing liver cells into functional liverlike assemblages "as a powerful tool for exploring the normal function of the liver and the mechanisms of disease." Pharmaceutical chemist Victoria G. Hale was honored for her work to establish the nonprofit Institute for OneWorld Health, San Francisco, which has a mission to "develop affordable drugs for neglected diseases that plague the world's poorest populations." Edith Widder, cofounder and director of the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, Fort Pierce, Fla., is a bioluminescence expert who received the award for developing sensors, submersibles, and other technologies for monitoring water quality and ocean ecosystem health. The Chicago-based John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation administers these awards, which include an unrestricted grant of $500,000 distributed over five years.