Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

We are thrilled to congratulate Marika Holland, senior scientist at NCAR’s Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory and M²LInES PI, on being named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow, an honor widely known as the “genius grant.”

Marika’s research explores how polar sea ice both responds to and shapes global climate. Her work on the ice-albedo feedback helped show how thinning ice can trigger rapid sea ice loss, and she has built these processes into the Community Earth System Model, used by researchers around the world. Her projections have even informed the listing of Emperor penguins as an endangered species.

This recognition is richly deserved. Congratulations, Marika!

Read more on the MacArthur Foundation website .