The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation on Tuesday named two Stanford professors, David Lobell, an agricultural ecologist, and Kevin Boyce, a paleobotanist, as fellows and awarded them large “genius” grants.


David Lobell
Lobell uses a multidisciplinary approach to study the impact of climate change on crop production and food security around the world.

“His multidisciplinary background in remote sensing, statistics, ecosystem modeling, land use, and agronomy informs his approach and enables him to draw significant insights from enormous and diverse data sets on weather, agricultural practices, and natural resources such as soil and water,” the foundation said in a news release.

“For research projects that span major agricultural areas in Africa, South Asia, Mexico, and the United States, he uses a wide array of methods and tools to study how factors such as temperature and moisture have affected crop yields over time and to project the consequences of future climate change on food production,” the foundation said.


C. Kevin Boyce
Boyce studies extinct and living plants across multiple timescales to establish direct links between ancient remains and present-day ecosystems to advance understanding of potential ecological changes as the planet warms.

“Boyce has emerged as a leader in a new subfield of paleontology that brings patterns of development and physiological processes of extant organisms to bear on the study of fossils,” the foundation said.

“His studies of leaf vein density demonstrated the development and critical importance of angiosperms’ (flowering plants) high vein density, which allows them to cycle water at much faster rates than other kinds of plants,” the foundation added.

Fellows will each receive a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000 (increased from $500,000) paid out over five years.

“Without stipulations or reporting requirements, the fellowship provides maximum freedom for recipients to follow their own creative vision,” the foundation said.

MacArthur Foundation