Scientific breakthroughs happen when unexpected fields collide and new collaborators take on hard problems together. That spirit defined the 2026 Hertz Summer Workshop, where 240 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
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. Her story honored Hertz Fellow David Galas for helping to shape her path. That focus on human connection was carried through by Brian Uzzi, Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, who provided a data-driven look at how the structure of a collaboration network predicts which scientific teams produce lasting work.
From Molecules to Music
Four neuroscientists worked up through the scales at which the brain handles sound. Hertz Fellow Paul Tillberg, a principal scientist at HHMI/Janelia Research Campus, started at the smallest, with expansion microscopy, a method that physically enlarges brain tissue so a light microscope can resolve the proteins inside a single synapse. Angeles Salles, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, moved to whole animals, showing how social context changes the way bats process the calls they hear. Erich Jarvis, who heads a laboratory at The Rockefeller University, widened the view to evolution: only a handful of animal groups learn their vocalizations, and songbirds and humans arrived at similar brain circuits for it independently. David Poeppel, a professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, finished with human speech and music, which the brain tracks at distinct rhythms, and with a reminder of how little is known about how the brain stores language. Hertz Fellow Maddie Urbanek, who built the session, then moderated a discussion that pressed the four on where their findings agree and where they don’t.
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 for new generation 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, vice president of research and development 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.
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
A 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 Prize for his outstanding service to the Hertz community. The prize 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.
