"Alumnus John Dabiri '01 Wins MacArthur Genius Grant" (news item)

<p>Meet</a> the 2010 Fellows - MacArthur Foundation</p>

<p>The MacArthur Foundation has just announced 23 winners of its "Genius Grants" who range from scientists to artists to social activists. Two Brown undergraduate alumni were honored this year and no other school was represented more than once as an undergraduate alma mater. </p>

<p>Princeton alumnus John Dabiri, a biophysicist, is Princeton's MacArthur 'genius grant' winner this year. Last year a Princeton faculty member and an alumnus were honored. Dabiri, who is currently a professor at Cal Tech, will receive $500,000.00 over a five year period, allowing him the freedom to pursue his research in greater depth.</p>

<p>This year, the Ivies were represented by Brown, Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth. </p>

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<p>" John Dabiri is a biophysicist whose work draws on a wide range of fields—including theoretical fluid dynamics, evolutionary biology, and biomechanics—to unravel the secrets of one of the earliest means of animal locomotion. He studies some of the simplest multicellular organisms, jellyfish (medusae), which propel themselves by contracting cells in their bell-shaped outer skin and generating jet forces in the tail end, with tentacles trailing behind. . . . (continued)"</p>