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4 In Massachusetts Among 2019 MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Winners

BOSTON (CBS/AP) -- This year's MacArthur fellows include four local winners from Boston University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation on Wednesday named 26 people who will each receive $625,000 over five years to use as they please. The Chicago-based foundation has awarded the so-called genius grants every year since 1981 to help further the pursuits of people with outstanding talent.

The 2019 fellows in the Bay State are:

  • Danielle Citron, 50: legal scholar, Boston University School of Law.
  • Jerry X. Mitrovica, 58: theoretical geophysicist, Harvard University.
  • Joshua Tenenbaum, 47: cognitive scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • Ocean Vuong, 30: poet and fiction writer, University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
macarthur genius grant mass winners
Danielle Citron, Jerry Mitrovica, Joshua Tenenbaumand Ocean Vuong (Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

The Associated Press interviewed Citron, a professor of law and expert in online harassment. She initially didn't take her call from the foundation seriously.

"I thought it was one of my friends trying to punk me," Citron said, adding that she began to believe as the caller went into details about her award.

For the past 15 years, Citron has focused her attention on cyber harassment and the toll it takes on its victims. She has advised state attorneys general and legislators on how to combat the most extreme forms of cyber abuse, including cyber stalking, cyber mob attacks and revenge porn — the nonconsensual posting of intimate photos or videos. She has worked with technology companies to update safety and privacy policies.

She told the AP that attitudes have evolved; over 10 years the number of states with laws attacking the issue of cyber stalking has grown from four to 46.

"When they go to police, victims are no longer being told, 'Too bad, so sad,'" she said.

Citron said some cyber abusers try to control and damage their victims by invading their privacy, secretly recording them in their bedrooms or public bathrooms then using those images to coerce their victims into sharing nude photographs and filming sex acts.

Sexual privacy is essential to human dignity and intimacy and should be protected, she said.

See the full list of winners here.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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