An Iowa State University professor is joining the ranks of 25 people who’re getting a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship or so-called “genius grant” this year.

Lisa Schulte Moore, a professor of natural resource ecology and management will get a no-strings-attached 625-thousand dollar award. University officials credit her for pushing the boundaries of her field to address climate change, water quality and population loss in rural areas. In a prepared statement, Schulte Moore said she’s always looking for the missing puzzle piece in her work — and that’s part of the fun of science. MacArthur Fellows are encouraged to use the grant to pursue their own creative, intellectual and professional inclinations.

In the past 40 years, one-thousand-86 people have won a “genius grant” and only four other Iowans have been named a MacArthur Fellow.