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UrduSelected 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
Stanford University
Biophysics, Immunology
Anshul Adve
University of California, Los Angeles
Mathematics
Anna Victoria Alvarez
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mechanical Engineering
Rahul Arun
California Institute of Technology
Aeronautics/Astronautics
Thiago Ross-White Bergamaschi
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
Akhilan Boopathy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Nina Mary Brown
Harvey Mudd College
Physics
Steven Cao
University of California, Berkeley
Computer Science and Engineering
Milena Sri Chakraverti-Wuerthwein
Princeton University
Biophysical Sciences
Kartik Chandra
Stanford University
Computer Science
Michael Zhu Chen
University of Oxford
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
John Joseph Cherian
Stanford University
Statistics
Trinity Cookis
University of California, Berkeley
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Jared Quincy Davis
Stanford University
Computer Science
Peter Carl DeWeirdt
Hamilton College
Quantitative Biology
Charles Alexander Dove
University of California, Berkeley
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Jacob Florian
University of Michigan
Engineering
Emily Claire Geyman
Princeton University
Earth and Geological Sciences
John Elliott Heath
California Institute of Technology
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Jonah Herzog-Arbeitman
Cambridge University
Physics
Alexander Yi-Kai Hwang
Stanford University
Applied Physics
Joyce Blossom Kang
Harvard University
Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics
Nathanael Parker Kazmierczak
California Institute of Technology
Chemistry
Elizabeth Ann King
University of California, Berkeley
Chemistry
Rohith Chandra Kuditipudi
Stanford University
Computer Science and Engineering
John Tianci Li
Rice University
Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Materials Chemistry, Materials Physics
Allen Xu Liu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
Daniel Dan Liu
Stanford University
Biology, Bioinformatics
Alec Lourenco
California Institute of Technology
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Arjun Srikanth Mani
Princeton University
Computer Science and Engineering
Alexander Miller
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aerospace Engineering and Physics
Seunghyun Park
Seoul National University
Physics
Isabelle Phinney
Harvard University
Chemical Physics
Richard Sherwood Randall
Stanford University
Mechanical Engineering
Pavithran T. Ravindran
Princeton University
Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering
Leah Tang Roe
University of California, Berkeley
Chemistry
Rahul Sahay
University of California, Berkeley
Physics
Joshua Samba
Rice University
Chemical Engineering
Alexis Morgan Schneider
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Immunology
Aaditya K. Singh
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
Samuel Aaron Solomon
California Institute of Technology
Medical Engineering
Mayuri Sridhar
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Farita Tasnim
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Physics
Katherine Ann Van Kirk
Harvard University
Physics
Karl Speas Westendorff
University of Virginia
Engineering
Turner Woody
Johns Hopkins University
Astrophysics
Olivia Zhou
Stanford University
Biophysics
Alexander Zlokapa
California Institute of Technology
Physics
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.
