Yale alumni Isaiah Andrews ’09 and Damien Fair ’01 MMSc have been recognized as 2020 fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, awarded with what are commonly known as MacArthur Genius grants for their inspirational work on behalf of the greater good.
The MacArthur fellowships are presented annually for “extraordinary originality and dedication.” Recipients receive $625,000, which is awarded over a five-year span.
“In the midst of civil unrest, a global pandemic, natural disasters, and conflagrations, this group of 21 exceptionally creative individuals offers a moment for celebration,” said Cecilia Conrad, managing director of the MacArthur Fellows. “They are asking critical questions, developing innovative technologies and public policies, enriching our understanding of the human condition, and producing works of art that provoke and inspire us.”
Andrews is an econometrician developing robust methods of statistical inference to address key challenges in economics and social science, the MacArthur website noted. He earned his PhD from MIT in 2014 and served as an associate professor at the university before moving to Harvard in 2018, where he is a professor in the Department of Economics and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Fair is, according the MacArthur Foundation, a cognitive neuroscientist advancing understanding of brain functioning during development, in typical and atypical contexts. He was affiliated with the Oregon Health and Science University from 2008 to 2020 and is currently on the faculty of the University of Minnesota as the Redleaf Endowed Director of the Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain. He also is the co-founder of Youth Engaged in Science and of NOUS Imaging.
Two additional 2020 fellows have Yale ties. Playwright Larissa FastHorse has had her work commissioned by the Yale Repertory Theatre, and Ralph Lemon was an associate artist at Yale Rep from 1996 to 2000.
***
Photos courtesy the MacArthur Foundation
