For academics, when you get a fellowship or grant that must be recorded on the 1099-misc in the united states. And you pay full taxes as an independent contractor.

I am not a lawyer nor am I an accountant. This is not legal or tax advice :)

Note that 'grants' is bolded in the article. A grant is not a prize, and a prize it not a grant. So it's one or the other, and since what they are doing would normally be called a prize (or reward), the fact that they specifically mention grants is likely because it has special significance.

It's like if I say to my uncle, "I'm giving you a gift of $10,000 in the form of a loan. Enjoy your $10,000". A gift can't be a loan, and a loan can't be a gift (for tax purposes). But I might say that, because the tax treatment for loans and gifts are different.

So that goes to my question of whether or not calling it a grant has tax significance.