savant married robert jarvik (one developer of the jarvik-7 artificial heart) on august 23, 1987, and was made chief financial officer of jarvik heart, inc. she has served on the board of directors of the national council on economic education, on the advisory boards of the national association for gifted children and the national women's history museum, and as a fellow of the committee for skeptical inquiry. toastmasters international named her one of "five outstanding speakers of 1999", and in 2003 she was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree from the college of new jersey.