Meet The 21 MacArthur 'Geniuses' Who Each Got $625,000 To Change The World

WikimediaSteve Coleman, 2014 MacArthur Fellow and revolutionary saxophonist.

Every year, the MacArthur Foundation selects a class of Fellows - we call them "Geniuses" - for their work that benefits society, whether it be writing plays or investigating nanomaterials.

Each Fellow receives $625,000 to support and further their work.

"The fellowship is designed to provide recipients with the flexibility to pursue their own artistic, intellectual, and professional activities in the absence of specific obligations or reporting requirements," the foundation website says.

This year's class has a diverse set of talents - from discovering the nature of prime numbers to educating public defenders - and ages, ranging from 32 to 71 years old.

See the full list of winners here, and read on to find out how they're changing the world.