Just four weeks ago Terry Tao was awarded the Fields Medal  "For his contributions to partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory".

Today the The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2006.  The new Fellows work across a broad spectrum of pursuits, including developmental biology, sculpting, rural medicine, jazz composition and performance, deep-sea exploration, and broad areas of mathematics.  All were selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important future contributions. 

Each recipient learned by a phone call from the Foundation that he or she will each receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.

MacArthur President, Jonathan Fanton says, "Selection for a MacArthur Fellowship is the culmination of an intensive review of the creative efforts and promise of each Fellow.  Our call comes as a complete surprise and offers the new Fellows the gift of time and an unfettered opportunity to reflect, explore, and create,"  and there are no reporting requirements.

Daniel Socolow, Director of the Fellows Program sums it up, "There is something palpable about this group of MacArthur Fellows –  about their character as explorers and pioneers at the absolute cutting edge. These are people pushing boldly to change, improve, and protect our world, to make it a better place for all of us.  This program was designed to provide an extra measure of freedom [for them]."

Click here to see the full list of 2006 Fellows and read why they were selected.