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Freja Ekman is interested in engineering novel gene therapies to target rare genetic diseases and using computational genomics to better characterize them. She is currently pursuing her MD-PhD at Stanford University, where she is working with Professor Matthew Porteus to develop CRISPR/Cas9-based gene therapies to target hematopoietic diseases and create new cancer immunotherapies. Prior to … Read more
Benjamin Spector is creating new methods and architectures for robust and transparent artificial intelligence while enabling adoption by a growing scientific and engineering community. As a doctoral student in computer science at Stanford University, his work straddles systems and machine learning. As an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Spector published machine learning … Read more
Beatriz Yankelevich is researching waveguide quantum electrodynamics with the goal of developing a modular quantum computing architecture. Yankelevich is currently a doctoral student in the Engineering Quantum Systems Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is advised by Professor William Oliver. While in her doctoral program, she plans to develop her interests … Read more
Aster Taylor is interested in the composition of the dark comets in the solar system and the origins of interstellar bodies. They are currently an undergraduate student in astrophysics at the University of Chicago and will begin doctoral studies at the University of Michigan in fall 2023. Taylor’s research interests include the dynamics of minor … Read more
Anna Soper is an experimental physicist designing unconventional optical cavities for the development of scalable cold atom-based quantum systems with strong atom-light interactions. She is currently a first-year graduate student at Stanford University working with Professor Jonathan Simon to design a system of microcavity arrays that will enable the pursuit of new regimes for quantum … Read more
Anjali Gurajapu is interested in leveraging computation for organic synthesis to develop reactions and synthesize complex structures relevant to human health. As advancements in high-throughput technologies enable data collection on larger scales, Gurajapu looks forward to exploring how data-driven workflows and quantum mechanical calculations can improve the efficiency of reaction optimization while probing the factors … Read more
Adele Payman studies fundamental plasma physics. She is particularly interested in how advances in basic plasma science from fusion research and laboratory astrophysics can be applied toward innovative propulsion concepts for deep space exploration. Payman will start a doctoral program in applied physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in fall 2023, where she … Read more
Susy Kim is the campaign and stewardship operations manager at the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. In this role, she helps manage the foundation’s strategic fundraising priorities, including event planning, data reporting and analysis, and volunteer leadership support. Once a chemical engineer and financial analyst at leading institutions such as Monsanto Company, Arthur D. Little, … Read more
Barak Gale is a climate educator and environmental activist. He is chair of The Climate Reality Project Thurston County, WA Chapter and a facilitator of Temple Beth Hatfiloh Green Team in Olympia. Barak has presented to over 100 high school classes, faith communities, and Lions Clubs – Especially memorable was a “Mini Climate Summit” of … Read more
Thomas Roisum is the Controller at the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. Thomas brings 30 years of accounting and finance experience that includes accounting management in manufacturing, aerospace, government and service industries. Within these industries, he has worked in positions as an auditor, internal auditor, accounting manager, assistant controller and controller, most recently as the … Read more
Nikhil Bhattasali is interested in understanding biological intelligence to build better artificial intelligence. Inspired by animal nervous systems, he assembles computational models that can control embodied agents and robots. Despite the many successes of AI in recent years, robotics has lagged: Artificial systems still can’t interact with the physical world at the same level as … Read more
Vivek Nair is Co-Founder and CEO of Multifactor, an applied cryptography startup building zero-trust identity security for the agentic era. As our world becomes increasingly connected, everything from our bank accounts to our power grids is susceptible to hackers and cyberwarfare. Vivek has over a decade of experience researching applied cryptographic techniques to secure critical systems … Read more
Daniel Longenecker studies scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory and string theory at Princeton University, where he is a first-year graduate student. His goal is to contribute to the reformulation of quantum field theory by discovering new principles and mathematical structures. Longenecker received his BA in physics and physics education in 2021 from Cornell University. … Read more
An MD-PhD student in biophysics at Stanford University, Emily Trimm is interested in combining genomics with innovative biophysical techniques to address some of the biggest unanswered questions in human disease. Her current research in Kristy Red-Horse’s group uses multiomic data from high-altitude species such as guinea pigs, alpine ibex and snow leopards to better understand … Read more
Wenjie Gong is interested in the intersection between quantum information and physical systems. Her ultimate goal is to develop scalable, stable and noiseless quantum devices that can push technology past the classical era. Insight into quantum phenomena is needed to help researchers design quantum computers that can solve computational problems faster than today’s classical computers. … Read more
David Li aims to develop transformative technologies that enable new biological insights, approaches and therapies. With a background in engineering and a strong interest in molecular biology, Li sees an opportunity to design new tools for manipulating cells and molecules. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this spring, Li will spend time in … Read more
Scott Moroch is an experimental physicist pursuing research at the intersection of atomic, nuclear and particle physics. When people think of particle physics, they usually picture massive machines that accelerate particles to the speed of light. Moroch — currently a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working in the lab of Ronald Fernando … Read more
Jonah Herzog-Arbeitman is a condensed matter physicist working toward the discovery of new states of matter and the development of quantum materials to solve long-standing problems. Among those he hopes to tackle: high-temperature superconductivity—the challenge of keeping superconductors stable at anything other than extreme cold temperatures. A third-year graduate student at Princeton University, working with … Read more
Syamantak Payra is a scientist and engineer who is passionate about creating new biomedical devices that can help provide physiological assistance, facilitate the diagnosis of illnesses and accelerate rehabilitation of the human body. A doctoral student at Stanford University, Payra uses his expertise in electrical engineering and computer science to develop new technologies with human … Read more
Alexander Cohen studies how waves interfere with each other—a topic of mathematics called harmonic analysis. He is inspired by the way that rigorous analytical techniques in mathematics can offer insight into mysterious phenomena in applied science, such as computer science and physics. Cohen is a third-year graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He … Read more
Shuvom Sadhuka wants to apply mathematical algorithmic principles to the biological sciences to help create more efficient, private and robust tools for analyzing biological—especially genomic—data. Many of the current bottlenecks in genomics, precision medicine and translational research revolve around the need for new, more efficient ways to analyze large, complex datasets. A better understanding of … Read more
Roderick Bayliss wants to design more efficient and power-dense electronics, a step toward reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. By developing high-performance power converters for the electronics that we use every day—from computers to cars and planes—he thinks that he can push past the current limits of electricity. Packing more and more energy into … Read more
David VadeLinde was an American electrical engineer who was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick from 2001 to 2006. After growing up in St. Albans, West Virginia, where he played football, David attended Carnegie Mellon University on a Hertz Fellowship. This school, “Carnegie Tech” at the time, would not have been within reach for him without the scholarship, … Read more
James Kester received a MS in Meteorology/IT from MIT in 1974 as a Hertz Fellow, with a thesis on Severe convective mesosystems in New England. He was then a Simulation Engineer at CACI International Inc. for twenty years. He also had roles at MCR Federal Inc. and Radiance Technologies Inc. He served as an interviewer … Read more
Thomas DeRoo received his Hertz-funded B.S. from University of Detroit. He then went on to get an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue.
Bert Forbes earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his master’s in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He went on to Hewlett-Packard Corporation, where he was one of the original architects of the HP 3000 minicomputer and the designer of HP’s first 16-bit microprocessor. Bert went on to co-found … Read more
Wendy Connors is the President of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. Wendy Connors is a passionate leader and advocate for science, technology, and education. As president of the Hertz Foundation, she leads the nation’s most prestigious doctoral fellowship in applied science, engineering, and mathematics—equipping exceptional students with unparalleled resources and lifelong support. Under her … Read more
As Senior Associate, Database Operations, at the Hertz Foundation, Katie is responsible for maintaining a healthy donor database and works closely with the development team to ensure the accuracy of all constituent records. Katie joined the Hertz Foundation after years of experience working as the Director of Database Services and Administration in independent K-12 schools. … Read more
Anne Kornahrens Ward is the Director of Community and Partnership at the Hertz Foundation. In this role, Anne oversees the strategic engagement and mobilization of more than 1,300 Hertz Fellows, a multigenerational network of many of our nation’s most accomplished science and technology leaders and disruptors. By strengthening connectivity among Hertz Fellows, Anne fuels new … Read more
Nathanael Kazmierczak seeks to encode and process information using individual molecules instead of electronics. As a chemistry graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, Nathanael uses molecular quantum bits to sense chemical microenvironments, gaining fundamental insights for medicine, catalysis, and energy conversion. He leverages computing and mathematics to design new experimental methods possessing superior … Read more
Alex Miller applies multidisciplinary engineering and science skills to research glacier remediation as well as sensors and actuators for the cryosphere and beyond. Alex investigates whether passive thermosiphons in West Antarctic glaciers may be used as a remediation to reduce the possibility of marine ice shelf instability. Alex has done significant work in developing sensors … Read more
Isabelle Yan Phinney explores condensed matter physics in the two-dimensional limit. A PhD student at Harvard University, Isabelle is particularly fascinated by quantum spin liquids as a platform for experimentally realizing topological quantum computing. She also maintains a strong interest in highly tunable graphene-based moire systems, where in recent years many interesting phenomena, such as … Read more
Allen Liu hopes to build a rigorous theoretical framework for understanding and developing machine learning algorithms. A PhD student in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he is working toward developing algorithms with provable guarantees for a variety of fundamental learning problems in areas like robust statistics and preference learning. Having experienced … Read more
Kartik Chandra applies tools built for machine learning systems in innovative ways to solve problems in visual computing. Chandra earned a B.S. in Computer Science with Honors, and Minors in Physics and English from Stanford University and is currently a doctoral student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His undergraduate research, conducted with professors Ras Bodik, … Read more
Katherine Ann Van Kirk is passionate about finding ways to apply quantum science for social impact. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Stanford University in 2019, Katherine investigated bias in quantum machine learning at the University of Cambridge, which she attended on Trinity College’s External Research Studentship. In her master’s essay on … Read more
By studying the molecular signals that shape the immune response to disease, Gita Abhiraman hopes to improve therapies for cancer and infectious diseases. An MD-PhD student at Stanford University, Gita focuses her research on molecular mechanisms that underlie human disease and immunity. Working under the advisement of Professor Chris Garcia, Gita uses X-ray crystallography and … Read more
Emily Geyman studies perturbations to Earth’s climate across history in order to better predict and understand the climate response to greenhouse emissions in the next century. Emily has spent the last two years living in the Arctic Circle, Norway, as a Daniel M. Sachs Global Scholar at Princeton University. Using archives of aerial imagery dating … Read more
John Cherian is interested in the development of new statistical methods that accelerate scientific research. A third-year statistics PhD student at Stanford University, he also serves as a statistical consultant to The Washington Post, where he most recently applied and extended a conformal inference method in order to improve the quality of the newspaper’s 2020 … Read more
Milena Chakraverti-Wuerthwein (she/her) is a biophysicist and social activist dedicated to deepening our understanding of ecological networks and to supporting scientists from underrepresented backgrounds. Milena joined the Biophysical Sciences PhD Program at the University of Chicago in the fall of 2021. She is dual-mentored by Professor Arvind Murugan, a physicist with a focus on non-equilibrium … Read more
Charles Dove uses artificial intelligence (AI) to harness the physics of light. A PhD student in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, Charles uses principles from machine learning and differentiable programming to create new methods for the simulation and fully automatic design of light-based technology. This capability would enable significant growth in the … Read more
Alexander Zlokapa focuses his research on combining techniques from theoretical physics and machine learning. A physics major at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), his research interests began in experimental high energy physics at Caltech and Stanford SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He now collaborates closely with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, … Read more
As senior director of the Hertz Fellowship Program, Derek Haseltine is responsible for managing the fellowship application and selection process, partnerships with academic institutions and other fellowship programs as well as driving career enhancement initiatives for in-school fellows. Derek brings over 15 years of higher education experience to the Hertz Foundation, most recently serving as … Read more
Amanda Shinholser is Director of the Hertz Fund and Development Operations at the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. Amanda joined the foundation with more than seven years of experience in development operations, database management, donor analytics and prospect development. Most recently, Amanda was the inaugural director of advancement services at The Bryn Mawr School where … Read more
Daniel Theobald is the founder and chief executive officer of Vecna Robotics. Daniel has been at the forefront of robotics research and development for over 20 years, partnering with DARPA, DoD, NASA, NIH, and USDA and many others to develop robust and agile autonomous systems for real-world applications. Daniel’s deep industry knowledge and practice of … Read more
Katherine Xiang is a PhD Candidate in Physics at Harvard University. Advised by Adam Cohen, Katherine conducts experiments to understand the effects of magnetic fields on fluorescent proteins. She also studies small molecule transport in cells. As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins, Katherine researched cell force generation and galactic bar buckling in the groups of … Read more
Using mathematics and neuroscience, Maxwell Wang is personalizing the way we care for our patients. Entering an MD/PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University in 2017, his research focused around a central goal: can we use precision instruments and algorithms to identify the right treatment for the right patient? Maxwell first … Read more
By exploring the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of diverse microbial ecosystems, Sophie Walton is working to provide insight into the processes that give rise to the vast microbial diversity observed within microbiomes. She is currently pursuing a PhD in biophysics at Stanford University, where she is advised by Dmitri Petrov (Biology) and Benjamin Good (Applied … Read more
Nico Valdes Meller is motivated by what he sees as beautiful and surprising connections in science, like the fact that the physics of black holes can provide insights into the behavior of materials. Aiming to work at the interface of theoretical physics and its applications by studying field theory, gravitation, and quantum information, Nico will … Read more
Constantine Tzouanas’ long-term goal is to engineer biological systems to address pressing needs, from organ transplants to environmentally responsible chemical production. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, Constantine is pursuing a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics with a concentration in biological engineering. As a … Read more
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