Every autumn, the announcement of the MacArthur Fellowships—often dubbed "genius grants"—shakes up the world of arts, sciences, and social innovation. On October 8, 2025, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation revealed its latest cohort of 22 fellows, spotlighting a dazzling spectrum of talent. From climate archaeology to social justice art, and from political science to vaccine design, this year’s recipients offer a vivid snapshot of the creative and intellectual energy shaping contemporary America.
Among the 2025 recipients is Kristina Guild Douglass, a Dartmouth alumna and now associate professor of climate at Columbia University. Douglass’s journey is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking. Her research, as highlighted by Dartmouth News, explores how human societies and their environments have co-evolved, particularly in the face of climate variability. She directs the Morombe Archaeological Project in southwest Madagascar, where she collaborates closely with local, Indigenous, and descendant communities. The MacArthur Foundation lauded her approach as “a leading model of community-engaged archaeology,” emphasizing that Douglass includes her community partners as co-authors and presenters in scholarly work.
Douglass’s trajectory was shaped by formative experiences at Dartmouth, where she majored in classical archaeology and concentrated in environmental studies. She credits a host of mentors—Jeremy Rutter, James Tatum, Paul Christesen, Margaret Graver, Håkan Tell, Andrew Friedland, and the late Jack Shepherd—for nurturing her intellectual curiosity and supporting her long after graduation. "They were not only remarkable teachers during my time at Dartmouth but continued to support and mentor me after I graduated," Douglass reflected. Her academic journey included fieldwork in Turkey, Greece, Crete, South Africa, Namibia, and Swaziland, experiences she described as "absolutely foundational."
Douglass’s research is as multifaceted as her background. She integrates archaeology, climatology, and conservation biology, always centering the voices and knowledge of those most affected by environmental change. Her scientific work has appeared in journals like Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Conservation Biology, and African Archaeological Review. But Douglass also studies the role of music, dance, and community expression in transmitting adaptive knowledge—an interest she traces back to her involvement with Dartmouth’s Gospel Choir. "One of the most emblematic aspects of my Dartmouth experience was learning to recognize and nurture the connection between the arts and the sciences," she said. Her former advisor, Jeremy Rutter, called Douglass “a star in her field of the archaeology of Madagascar for at least the past decade, if not longer.”
Douglass is joined in the 2025 class by Jason McLellan, a structural biologist and former assistant professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, now at the University of Texas at Austin. McLellan’s pioneering work on structure-based vaccine design—especially targeting the SARS-CoV-2 protein—was instrumental in the global fight against COVID-19. The MacArthur Foundation cited his "insights into protein structure, function, and engineering" as "critical to protecting human health from the continual emergence of new infectious diseases." McLellan, who earned his PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2009, was also recognized with Dartmouth’s inaugural McGuire Family Prize for Societal Impact in 2022.
Another standout among this year’s fellows is Hahrie Han, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the inaugural director of the university’s SNF Agora Institute. According to The Hub at Johns Hopkins, Han is the first political scientist to be named a MacArthur Fellow since 2001 and the first Johns Hopkins faculty member to receive the honor since 2008. Han’s scholarship delves into political organizing, social movements, collective action, civic engagement, and democracy. She has authored five books, including the recently acclaimed Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church, which was named to The New York Times list of 100 Most Notable Books of 2024.
Han’s work is deeply rooted in questions of how democracy is built and sustained at the grassroots. "If democracy is about how we forge a common life together, then my work focuses on how we equip people with the skills and motivations they need to work with others from all different backgrounds to do the hard work of democracy," Han explained to The Hub. She plans to step down as director of the SNF Agora Institute at the end of the 2025-26 academic year to focus more fully on her research but will remain on the faculty. Han’s accolades include election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recognition as the 2022 Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year by the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation.
Chicago social justice artist and photographer Tonika Lewis Johnson also joins the 2025 MacArthur Fellows, as reported by WTTW News. Johnson’s art is a powerful exploration of segregation and disinvestment in Chicago neighborhoods, most notably through her "Folded Map Project." This visual investigation pairs addresses on Chicago’s North and South sides, creating what Johnson calls "map twins" and sparking conversations about the city’s entrenched divides. "Growing up in Englewood, every part of my life has been touched by segregation, and I know that to be true about everyone who lives in this city," Johnson shared in her MacArthur Fellow announcement video.
Johnson’s work doesn’t stop at art for art’s sake; it’s about action and repair. Her "UnBlocked Englewood" project, developed with the Chicago Bungalow Association, reclaims vacant lots and restores homes on the 6500 block of South Aberdeen Street—properties historically impacted by discriminatory land sale contracts in the 1950s and ’60s. As of 2025, half of the 25 targeted homes have been repaired. "This block in particular represents the struggles of so many, not only in Englewood, but in other Black neighborhoods that have dealt with these historic discriminatory housing practices," Johnson told Chicago Tonight in 2024. She emphasizes, "In order to create more Black homeowners, you really have to support the existing Black homeowners."
Each MacArthur Fellowship comes with an $800,000 "no strings attached" award, distributed over five years. The foundation’s intent is to give recipients the freedom to pursue their creative and scholarly ambitions without restriction. For many, this means the ability to take risks, pivot in new directions, or deepen their engagement with the communities and questions that matter most.
As Kristen Mack, vice president of communications at the MacArthur Foundation, put it, “The 2025 MacArthur Fellows expand the boundaries of knowledge, artistry, and human understanding.” This year’s honorees—whether working in the lab, the field, the studio, or the streets—embody that mission, each in their own singular way. Their achievements remind us that innovation and insight often spring from unexpected intersections, and that genius, in all its forms, is best nurtured by freedom, curiosity, and a commitment to the common good.
