Scientific breakthroughs happen when unexpected fields collide and new collaborators take on hard problems together. That spirit defined the 2026 Hertz Summer Workshop, where 251 members of the Hertz Community gathered July 9-12 at the Q Center in St. Charles, Illinois, to challenge existing paradigms and push the boundaries of scientific discovery.
Beyond formal presentations, the summer workshop emphasized hands-on collaboration, interactive learning and the value of unstructured time. Guests engaged in an engineering challenge, small-group sessions and partner-led workshops, while also enjoying impromptu conversations and local activities, strengthening both ideas and relationships across the community.
Keynote Sessions
The workshop’s two keynote sessions brought that spirit of connection into focus, exploring how scientific progress is shaped not only by breakthrough ideas, but also by the people, relationships and networks behind them.
2025 Nobel laureate Mary Brunkow, distinguished investigator at the Institute for Systems Biology, revisited her discovery of the Foxp3 gene, the control mechanism for the regulatory T cells that prevent autoimmune disease. She also reflected on her scientific journey and the influence of Hertz Fellow David Galas in helping shape her path.
Brian Uzzi, Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, took the stage for the workshop’s second keynote. Drawing on data from scientific collaborations, Uzzi examined how the structure of research networks can help predict which teams produce work with lasting impact.
From Molecules to Music
Four neuroscientists examined how the brain processes sound and communication across scales, moving from the molecular structures within individual synapses to animal vocalizations, vocal learning, human speech, language and music. Hertz Fellow Maddie Urbanek, who organized the session, brought these perspectives together in a discussion of where the findings converge, where they differ and what studying the brain across scales can reveal about communication and language.
Hertz Fellow Paul Tillberg, a principal scientist at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, discussed expansion microscopy, a nanoscale imaging technique that physically enlarges biological tissue so researchers can use light microscopy to see structures that would otherwise be too small to resolve. His work explores how the technique can provide increasingly detailed views of neuronal synapses, proteins and other molecular structures in the brain.
Erich Jarvis, who leads a laboratory at The Rockefeller University, examined the neuroscience of vocal learning and how the brain enables learned vocal communication. His research compares vocal learning in songbirds and humans, which independently evolved similar brain pathways for learning and producing vocalizations.
Nuclear Catalyst
The Nuclear Catalyst sessions brought utilities, national laboratories, universities and fusion companies together for two panels, one on fission and one on fusion.
Fission Panel. Introduced by Hertz Fellow Paul Frattini, the fission panel took up whether the industry can build the new capacity that demand forecasts require, and what financing, licensing and workforce that will take. Koroush Shirvan, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, moderated a discussion with Colleen Wright, vice president of development at Constellation; Bob Coward, executive partner at Novellum Partners; and Jenifer Shafer, the Ben L. Fryrear Presidential Chair in Energy at the Colorado School of Mines.
Fusion Panel. Introduced by Hertz Fellow Garry Maskaly, the fusion panel brought together three companies pursuing different approaches to fusion energy and the questions each still has to answer on the way to a power plant. Laura Berzak Hopkins, deputy director for research and chief research officer, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, moderated a discussion with Derek Sutherland, chief scientific officer at Realta Fusion; John Canik, chief science and engineering officer at Type One Energy Group; and Keith LeChien, founder and chief technology officer of Pacific Fusion.
“We are reaching ever closer… stepping closer to understanding what’s keeping us from delivering fusion as an energy source, resolving those questions and then getting over the finish line.”
Laura Berzak Hopkins
Hertz Fellows Showcase
A signature feature of the Hertz Summer Workshop, the Hertz Fellows Showcase offers an inside look at the work of Hertz Fellows themselves. These sessions highlight Fellows’ research and its real-world impact, this year spanning the limits of quantum computing, the engineering of antibodies and T cell receptors, an open map of the human cell surface for drug delivery, neural networks that replace physics simulators in photonics and the development of blood vessels. Highlights from four of the talks are below.
Hertz Fellow Becca Carlson shared how she is mapping proteins on the surface of human cells to identify new ways to deliver medicines to specific cells. Through the Deliverome Project, she is combining AI, proteomics and functional genomics to determine which proteins appear on different cells, how abundant they are and whether they can carry therapeutic payloads inside.
Hertz Fellow Alexander Zlokapa shared how he is using physics and computational complexity to identify problems where quantum computers may outperform classical computers. His research explores phase transitions and community detection as potential paths toward demonstrating genuine quantum advantage.
Hertz Fellow Brandon DeKosky shared how his lab is using high-throughput screening, directed evolution, machine learning and computational protein design to accelerate antibody drug discovery. By testing antibody variants at much larger scales, the approach could help researchers identify and engineer antibodies with promising therapeutic functions.
Hertz Fellow Charles Dove shared how his research uses artificial intelligence to simulate light faster and design new optical technologies. His neural-network models can accelerate electromagnetic wave simulations and enable inverse design of devices with potential applications in biomedical imaging, optical communications and photonic computing.
Unlocking the New $100,000 Hertz Fund Fall Challenge
Hertz Fellow Sandeep Singhal shared that he and his wife, Sukriti, will match all gifts to the Hertz Fund through Dec. 31, 2026, up to $100,000, and will double gifts from first-time donors. Singhal made the announcement during the Saturday evening program, sharing with attendees just how foundational the Hertz Fellowship has been to himself as a scientist and as a person. As a Fellow, volunteer and donor, Singhal is motivated by closing the gap between the number of qualified candidates and funded fellowships.
“My wife and I have supported the Foundation annually for nearly twenty years. And here’s what motivates me most: every year, there are more qualified candidates than fellowships. Every year, we miss the opportunity to support extraordinary scientists, not for lack of talent, but for lack of resources. Your involvement and your gifts change that.”
Spirit of Volunteerism
The spirit of volunteerism was woven throughout the weekend, as many Fellows stepped forward to volunteer their time, expertise and leadership to advance the Foundation’s mission. This ethos was embodied by Daniel Slichter, who received the Raymond Sidney Volunteer Leadership Award for his outstanding service to the Hertz community. The award was established in honor of Hertz Fellow Ray Sidney, who originally conceptualized the Hertz Summer Workshop and was in attendance, making the moment a powerful link between the workshop’s origins and its vibrant present. Many other Fellows also contributed their time and energy, including the volunteer Hertz Summer Workshop Planning Committee, who helped organize the event and ensure a seamless experience for attendees.
Looking Forward to What’s Next
We look forward to gathering with Fellows and supporters throughout the year at events nationwide, culminating at the 2027 Hertz Summer Workshop, July 15-18, 2027, at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Wash., where we will continue building on the connections made, partnerships forged and inspiration sparked in St. Charles.
Hertz Fellow John Mather, 2006 Nobel laureate in Physics, senior astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and honorary member of the Hertz Foundation board, will join us as a featured speaker. Mather led the science of the James Webb Space Telescope and now designs inflatable starshades to find Earth-like planets around other stars.
About the Hertz Foundation
The Hertz Foundation is the nation’s preeminent nonprofit organization committed to advancing American scientific and technological leadership. For more than 60 years, it has stood as an unwavering pillar of independent support through the renowned Hertz Fellowship, cultivating a multidisciplinary network of innovators whose work has positively impacted millions of lives. Learn more at hertzfoundation.org.
