2023 Hertz Fellowship Application Now Open

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, today announced that it is accepting applications for the 2023 Hertz Fellowship awards.

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, which offers flexibility from the traditional constraints of graduate training and the independence needed to pursue research that best advances our nation’s security and economic vitality.

In addition to receiving financial support, Hertz Fellows join a multigenerational, intellectual community of peers including some of the nation’s most noted science and technology leaders, offering a unique engine for professional development and collaboration. Hertz Fellows have access to lifelong programming, such as mentoring, events and networking, which has led them to form research collaborations, commercialize technology and create and invest in early-stage companies together, among other opportunities.

“We are excited to see the nation’s future scientific leaders and disruptors throughout this application cycle,” said Derek Haseltine, director of the Hertz Fellowship Program. “We enthusiastically welcome all creative problem-solvers interested in using their applied research to tackle real-world problems to apply.”

The Hertz Foundation is dedicated to expanding and accelerating the U.S. pipeline of scientific and technical leadership. The rigorous and merit-based selection process, led by Hertz Fellow and board member Philip Welkhoff, director of the malaria program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, includes evaluation of written responses to application questions, letters of recommendation and two rounds of in-person interviews with current leaders in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines. In addition to academic excellence, the selection committee focuses on the exceptional and unique aspects of each candidate that are essential for future success: deep, interconnecting knowledge and the extraordinary creativity necessary to tackle problems that others can’t solve.

The application closes on Friday, October 28, 2022. Fellowship finalists will be named in February 2023, and fellowship awards will be officially announced in May 2023. 

Fellowship recipients will join a community of fellows whose transformative research and innovation impact our nation every day. Applicants can access a full directory of Hertz Fellows to learn more about individuals from their graduate programs and fields of interest.

Among the past recipients of the Hertz Fellowship are Nobel laureate John Mather, a NASA astrophysicist and project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope; Kim Budil, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Nathan Myhrvold, founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures, founding director of Microsoft Research and former chief technology officer at Microsoft; Ellen Pawlikowski, retired four-star general, former commander, Air Force Materiel Command; and Mung Chiang, president-elect of Purdue University and Roscoe H. George Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Over the foundation’s 59-year history of awarding fellowships, more than 1,200 Hertz Fellows have established a remarkable track record of accomplishments. Hertz Fellows are building tools to defend the nation’s digital infrastructure against cyberthreats, developing electronics that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and creating technology to study cancer, among a number of other exciting breakthroughs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Hertz Fellows pivoted their research to join the fight, inspired by the moral commitment each new fellow makes to take action in times of national emergency.

Learn more and apply for the Hertz Fellowship at https://www.hertzfoundation.org/apply.

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation identifies the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology and empowers them to pursue solutions to our toughest challenges. Launched in 1963, the Hertz Fellowship is the most prestigious fellowship program in the U.S., fueling more than 1,200 leaders, disruptors and creators who apply their remarkable talents where they’re needed most — from our national security to the future of health care. Hertz Fellows hold 3,000+ patents, have founded 375+ 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.