What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

Professor of Planetary Science and Professor of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and planetary scientist exploring the possibility of life throughout the galaxy.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

Fellow of JILA
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO
Age: 36
Ana Maria Rey is a theoretical physicist working across the interfaces of atomic, molecular, optical, and condensed matter physics with the goal of using mathematical models to describe the complex behavior of nature.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, NY

Sheila Nirenberg is a neuroscientist exploring fundamental questions about how the brain encodes visual information and developing an alternative approach to restoring sight after photoreceptor cell degeneration.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

H. E. Robbins Professor of Statistics, Department of Statistics
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Age: 55
Susan Murphy is a statistician developing new methodologies to evaluate courses of treatment for individuals coping with chronic or relapsing disorders such as depression or substance abuse.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia) 

Professor, Department of History
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
Age: 46
Julie Livingston is a medical historian who combines archival research with ethnography to explore the care and treatment of individuals suffering from chronic illnesses and debilitating ailments in Botswana, a middle-income country with a system of universal health care.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Age: 42

Dina Katabi is a communications researcher working at the interface of computer science and electrical engineering to improve the speed, reliability, and security of data exchange.

What does it feel like to win $500,000 for your research? Ask any one of these 7 brilliant women, who along with 24 others were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, they award "creative people" that they deem committed to "building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." Sounds like a pretty awesome goal to me! And the awardees they chose are doing just that. If you want to feel inspired today, hit "play" on the videos below!  - Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia)

Who says girls can't do science? In 2011, girls were anything but absent among the Google Science Fair winners. These three teen scientistas are well on their way to becoming brilliant scientists. With maturity, poise, and a little humor, Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose, and Naomi Shah break down complex scientific concepts into 5 minute, digestible presentations. Prepare to be inspired!  -- Julia Tartaglia (Co-Founder of Scientista / @juliatartaglia) 

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