Newswise — The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation today announced 48 finalists for the 2021 Hertz Fellowship in applied science, mathematics, and engineering. Selected from more than 900 applicants and representing 17 universities, the finalists advance to a culminating round of interviews for one of the most competitive and coveted fellowships in the nation. The 2021 class of Hertz Fellows will be announced in May. Since 1963, the Hertz Foundation has granted fellowships empowering the nation’s most promising young minds in science and technology. Hertz Fellows receive five years of funding valued at up to $250,000, with the freedom to pursue innovative projects wherever they may lead. In addition to financial support, the foundation provides ongoing mentoring, symposia, and retreats to build a network of peers, providing fellows a forum to share ideas and explore opportunities throughout their careers. “This year’s finalists possess the necessary creativity and desire to push the boundaries of applied science and technology,” said Derek Haseltine, director of the Hertz Fellowship Program. “We commend all applicants for their perseverance in spite of the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve shown incredible resiliency in adapting to changing academic and workforce dynamics.” The Hertz Foundation is dedicated to advancing groundbreaking applied science with real-world benefits. Through its rigorous selection process, led by Hertz Fellow Philip Welkhoff of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hertz Fellowship selection committee seeks out extraordinary candidates who are best positioned to become leaders in their fields and address the most pressing challenges facing society. Over the foundation’s 58-year history of awarding fellowships, its 1,242 Hertz Fellows have established a remarkable track record of accomplishments. Their ranks include two Nobel laureates; eight recipients of the Breakthrough Prize; and winners of the Turing Award, the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Technology, and the National Medal of Science. In addition, 43 are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and 29 are fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hertz Fellows hold over 3,000 patents, have founded more than 200 companies, and have created hundreds of thousands of science and technology jobs. 2021 Hertz Fellowship Finalists Finalists are listed with their field of study and most recent university affiliation. Gita Chu Abhiraman Anshul Adve Anna Victoria Alvarez Rahul Arun Thiago Ross-White Bergamaschi Akhilan Boopathy Nina Mary Brown Steven Cao Milena Sri Chakraverti-Wuerthwein Kartik Chandra Michael Zhu Chen John Joseph Cherian Trinity Cookis Jared Quincy Davis Peter Carl DeWeirdt Charles Alexander Dove Jacob Florian Emily Claire Geyman John Elliott Heath Jonah Herzog-Arbeitman Alexander Yi-Kai Hwang Joyce Blossom Kang Nathanael Parker Kazmierczak Elizabeth Ann King Rohith Chandra Kuditipudi John Tianci Li Allen Xu Liu Daniel Dan Liu Alec Lourenco Arjun Srikanth Mani Alexander Miller Seunghyun Park Isabelle Phinney Richard Sherwood Randall Pavithran T. Ravindran Leah Tang Roe Rahul Sahay Joshua Samba Alexis Morgan Schneider Aaditya K. Singh Samuel Aaron Solomon Mayuri Sridhar Farita Tasnim Katherine Ann Van Kirk Karl Speas Westendorff Turner Woody Olivia Zhou Alexander Zlokapa About the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation identifies the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, and empowers them to pursue solutions to the world’s toughest challenges. Launched in 1963, the Hertz Fellowship is the most exclusive fellowship program in the United States, fueling more than 1,200 leaders, disruptors, and creators who apply their remarkable talent where it's needed most—from improving human health to protecting the health of the planet. Hertz Fellows hold 3,000+ patents, have founded 200+ companies, and have received 200+ major national and international awards, including two Nobel Prizes, eight Breakthrough Prizes, the National Medal of Technology, the Fields Medal, and the Turing Award. Learn more at HertzFoundation.org.
Stanford University
Biophysics, Immunology
University of California, Los Angeles
Mathematics
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mechanical Engineering
California Institute of Technology
Aeronautics/Astronautics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Harvey Mudd College
Physics
University of California, Berkeley
Computer Science and Engineering
Princeton University
Biophysical Sciences
Stanford University
Computer Science
University of Oxford
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Stanford University
Statistics
University of California, Berkeley
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Stanford University
Computer Science
Hamilton College
Quantitative Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of Michigan
Engineering
Princeton University
Earth and Geological Sciences
California Institute of Technology
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Cambridge University
Physics
Stanford University
Applied Physics
Harvard University
Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics
California Institute of Technology
Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley
Chemistry
Stanford University
Computer Science and Engineering
Rice University
Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Materials Chemistry, Materials Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
Stanford University
Biology, Bioinformatics
California Institute of Technology
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Princeton University
Computer Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aerospace Engineering and Physics
Seoul National University
Physics
Harvard University
Chemical Physics
Stanford University
Mechanical Engineering
Princeton University
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
University of California, Berkeley
Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley
Physics
Rice University
Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Immunology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
California Institute of Technology
Medical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Physics
Harvard University
Physics
University of Virginia
Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
Astrophysics
Stanford University
Biophysics
California Institute of Technology
Physics