The 2011 winners of the 17th annual Heinz Awards, given annually in honor of the late Sen. John Heinz.
—John Luther Adams, Fairbanks, Alaska. Composes music inspired by the Alaska wilderness, including using seismic readings to create a light and sound show in concert with geologists and physicists.
—Richard Alley of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. His work on polar ice that showed abrupt climate change is possible by using ice-core samples to show that the last ice age ended over just a three-year period.
Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute in Missoula, Mont. Her work shows how products can be improved by borrowing from nature’s forms. She created a groundbreaking database called Ask Nature. Visitors can see how organisms filter air and water, gather solar energy and create non-toxic dyes and glues.
Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, of Wicked Delicate Films, and FoodCorps in Brooklyn, N.Y. They use humor and innovative programs to teach people about sustainable food.
Louis J. Guillette, Jr. of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His work studies the impact chemicals have on wildlife and provides insights to how humans may be impacted.
Joan Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. For research on the impacts of climate change on coral reefs.
Nancy Knowlton of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. For work on ocean biodiversity and the impacts of humans on marine life.
Nancy Rabalais of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Chauvin, La. For research on severe oxygen depletion in the Gulf of Mexico and ways to reduce water pollution through education and public policy.
Sandra Steingraber of Ithaca College in N.Y. For her writing about the link between toxic chemicals and diseases, and for engaging the public as a cancer survivor.
