The Harvard faculty has yet another genius in its midst, according to the MacArthur Foundation which awarded Peter Galison, Mallinckrodt professor of the history of science and of physics, a 'genius' grant.

Galison, 42, received $265,000 from the foundation. MacArthur Fellowships are unrestricted awards in support of individuals, not specific projects, and do not require a report or any other production by recipients.

"I'm delighted that Galison, intellectual eclectic and reviver of history of science, should be supported by the MacArthur Foundation," said Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles. "What good taste they have."

Galison studies the history of science, mainly events from twentieth-century physics. He focuses on the role of scientific instruments. He authored How Experiments End in 1987 and Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics in 1997.