2 University of Minnesota professors awarded MacArthur 'genius grants'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two University of Minnesota researchers have been awarded MacArthur “genius grants.” 

Chemical engineer Paul Dauenhauer, cognitive neuroscientist Damien Fair and 19 others were named 2020 fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Tuesday. The fellowships are given to faculty who “illustrate originality and creative pursuits in their field of study,” according to a U of M news release. 

Fellows receive $625,000 stipends with no conditions that they can use to further their pursuits.

Dauenhauer, 39, is a professor in the U of M’s chemical engineering department. He is "developing new technologies for converting renewable, organic materials into chemicals used in products such as plastics, rubber and detergents," according to the MacArthur Foundation. 

Fair, 44, is the director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain and a professor in the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development and in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical School. He was awarded the grant for his research "devising maps of network connectivity in individual brains that advance our understanding of how distinct regions communicate and develop in both typical and atypical contexts," according to the MacArthur Foundation. 

This year's class of MacArthur fellows includes scientists, artists, writers, a documentary filmmaker and an environmental health advocate.