22 receive MacArthur 'genius grants'

CHICAGO -- A Chicago skyscraper architect, a New York City children's choir founder and a North Carolina scientist who studies preventing sports-related concussions are among the latest 22 recipients of the no-strings-attached MacArthur Foundation "genius grants."

The $500,000 fellowships for 2011 were announced yesterday by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

"I was dumbfounded, I actually cried," said Francisco J. Nunez, 46, founder of the Young People's Chorus of New York City.

Recipients can spend the money however they like, but many like Nunez say the honor of the fellowship makes them focus on what they would accomplish in their fields if only they had the means. His group's many choir programs have more than 1,000 young singers.

Even though they're referred to as the "genius grants," MacArthur Foundation president Robert Gallucci said the more attractive quality is creativity.

This year's list includes a former U.S. poet laureate, an elder rights lawyer, an evolutionary geneticist, a jazz percussionist, a cellist and a developmental biologist.

Jeanne Gang, 47, was the architect of the 82-story Aqua Tower and her firm, Studio Gang, focuses on green building and sustainable design. Her designs were cited for challenging "the aesthetic and technical possibilities of the art form."

Kevin Guskiewicz's studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have made strides in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sports-related concussions. Guskiewicz, 45, said he wants to use some of the grant to develop rehabilitation plans for athletes and soldiers with concussions.