Meet the 2015 Heinz Award Recipients
By Melissa Yeo, April 24, 2015
A scientist who grew liver cells outside the human body.
A researcher who established pioneering links between environmental toxins and lifelong health.
A prolific cartoonist who crafted a graphic memoir about her parents’ final years.
What do these three people have in common?
They’re all recipients of the 20th Heinz Awards, an annual accolade recognizing remarkable individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improve the lives of others.
Established to honor the memory of the late U.S. Senator John Heinz, the Awards celebrate extraordinary achievements of individuals in areas of great importance to him: Arts and Humanities; the Environment; Human Condition; Public Policy; and Technology, the Economy and Employment. The following are this year’s winners in each category.
- Arts and Humanities: New Yorker cartoonist and illustrator, Roz Chast, whose uncompromising body of work brings humor to everyday anxieties, including her best-selling graphic novel on caring for her parents in their final years
- Environment: Frederica Perera, environmental health researcher at Columbia University, who is one of the first to prove that early exposure to pollution was associated with childhood disorders that could last a lifetime
- Public Policy: Aaron Wolf, geoscientist, conflict mediator and professor at Oregon State University, who blends science-based research, rationality, ancient wisdoms and cultural sensitivities to resolve transboundary water disputes
- Human Condition: Former Marines William McNulty and Jacob Wood, co-founders of Team Rubicon, who engage military veterans in a new, purposeful mission by deploying them as relief teams to deliver global humanitarian aid
- Technology, the Economy and Employment: Sangeeta Bhatia, bioengineer at MIT, who develops micro-livers by applying a process typically used for computer chip technology and who also serves as a vocal advocate for women in the sciences
Meet the 2015 honorees or join the conversation on Twitter at #HeinzAward.
