US Young Leaders in Applied Science & Engineering Receive Nation’s Most Generous Ph.D. Fellowship

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, one of the leading non-profit organizationsin the United States, focused on supporting innovative young leaders in the applied sciences and engineering fields, has awarded Hertz Fellowships to 15 students for support lasting up to five years of their graduate studies. Since 1963, the Hertz Foundation has provided the nation’s most generous Ph.D. Fellowships to over 1,070 uniquely gifted applied scientists and engineers with the potential to change the world for the better.

“By supporting uniquely talented young leaders in the applied sciences and engineering to develop and explore their genius, the Hertz Foundation promotes innovative solutions to emerging challenges our nation and world face today,” stated the Hertz Foundation President Jay Davis. “The Hertz Foundation welcomes the fifteen new Hertz Fellows to this community of leaders whose creativity and risk-taking are producing advances in science, technology, business, academia and government that address and attack the most important national and global problems.”

This year’s class of fifteen Hertz Fellows was selected from an elite pool of nearly six hundred applicants. The 2010-2011 Hertz Fellows are comprised of eleven men and four women. Last year eight men and two women were offered Hertz Fellowships. Mathematics, physics and biophysics were the most popular current fields of study among the 2010-2011 new Fellows. In addition, eight of the new Hertz Fellows were previously awarded Goldwater Scholarships as undergraduates, the prestigious scholarships for students pursuing careers in science, mathematics and engineering. Also, three of the new Hertz Fellows were awarded Churchill Scholarships, one-year scholarships to Cambridge University for recent US undergraduates who demonstrate creative work at the advanced level in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics.

Valued at over $250,000, Hertz Fellowships are unique no-strings-attached fellowships, which allow exceptional applied scientists and engineers the freedom to innovate. Hertz Fellows pursue their own ideas with financial independence under the guidance of the finest professors at the country’s top universities. Hertz Fellows are chosen for their intellect, their ingenuity, and their potential to bring meaningful and lasting change to our society.

ABOUT THE HERTZ FOUNDATION
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is one of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations focused on empowering young scientists and engineers with the freedom to innovate. Since 1963, the Hertz Foundation has identified over 1,070 promising applied scientists and engineers with the potential to change the world for the better and supported their doctoral research by providing the nation’s most generous Ph.D. Fellowships. The highly competitive selection process includes a comprehensive written application, four references, and two rounds of exacting interviews by recognized leaders in applied science and engineering. The Foundation not only supports the Fellows in their graduate education, but also provides unique seminars, workshops and symposia away from their campus environments to expose the in-school Fellows to national leaders and researchers, many of whom are alumni Fellows of the Foundation. More information on the Hertz Foundation can be found at http://www.hertzfoundation.org.

FELLOW – CURRENT SCHOOL – FIELD OF STUDY

Andrea Barrett (1) – Georgia Institute of Technology, GA – Biomedical Engineering
Ylaine Gerardin – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA – Biology & Electrical Engineering
Maria Monks (2) – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA – Mathematics
Melanie H. Smith (1) – University of California, San Francisco, CA – Biophysics

(1) Goldwater Scholarship
(2) both Goldwater and Churchill Scholarships