Hertz Foundation

Supporting the nation’s top science & technology innovators | Hertz Fellowship | Graduate & PhD student research funding for 60+ years

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

📣 The 2027 Hertz Fellowship application is now open!

The Hertz Fellowship is designed for the nation’s most promising graduate students in applied science, engineering, and mathematics—empowering them to pursue bold ideas that advance science, technology, and innovation.

Hertz Fellows receive up to five years of flexible funding, mentorship, and the support of a lifelong community dedicated to their success.

🔗Learn more about the Hertz Fellowship here: https://t.co/gUgPaMEKXx

Have questions about the Hertz Fellowship application process? 💬

Register for attend one of our free virtual information session with Hertz Fellowship Director Derek Haseltine and some of our Hertz Fellows. Learn what to expect and get advice on preparing a competitive application.

📅 Sept 10 | 12:00 PM ET ➡️ https://t.co/VIuWnwEe40

📅 Sept 14 | 6:00 PM ET ➡️ https://t.co/f46zXN5qqe

#Phdstudent #graduatestudent #HertzFellowship #HertzFellows #Scholarships #Science #Tech #Physics #ComputerScience #MedicalSchool #Quantum #stemeducation #highereducation #research #nonprofit

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

As the oncology community gathers in Madrid for #ESMO26, new results from a phase 3 melanoma trial are putting personalized mRNA cancer vaccines in the spotlight.

Merck and Moderna reported that adding an experimental mRNA vaccine to immunotherapy reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% compared with immunotherapy alone. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) was among the institutions participating in the trial.

At the Hertz Summer Workshop, we spoke with 2024 Hertz Fellow David Hoyos, a researcher in the Benjamin Greenbaum Lab at MSK, about how mRNA technology could help advance the next generation of cancer vaccines.

Hoyos is studying how to teach the immune system to recognize mutant p53, a protein associated with many cancers. His research focuses on Li-Fraumeni syndrome, an inherited condition that greatly increases the risk of several cancers, including breast cancer.

While cancer vaccine trials are exploring ways to treat cancer or prevent its recurrence, Hoyos is investigating whether mRNA vaccines could one day help prevent or delay breast cancer in women with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. He also hopes the research will reveal how to train the immune system to target mutant p53 in a much broader range of cancers.

#CancerVaccines #CancerResearch #breastcancer

[Po-Shen Loh @PoShenLoh]

An easier way to explain why e is natural: video finally released! https://t.co/QLV4cyc3oo
I actually recorded this last year. But none of us had time to edit the footage. Then I built a full video editing pipeline in Claude Code. Amazing what can be done now! (All real footage)

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Time to lock in. One week left — applications for the 2027 Hertz Fellowship close October 30. 📅

🔗Complete your 2027 Hertz Fellowship application today: https://t.co/W1OMQp0qlU

#HertzFellowship #PhD #STEM #fellowships #science #scholarships

[Convergent Research @Convergent_FROs]

What would it take to fund ambitious science beyond the lab or startup? This autumn, we’re bringing people across the UK together to explore new models, including Focused Research Organizations (FROs). No prior knowledge needed. Join us, and bring a curious friend.

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Some of the chemical reactions that make life possible depend on tiny clusters of iron and sulfur atoms. This National Chemistry Week, let’s get into the science behind them with 2026 Hertz Fellow Alvin Meng. 🧪

Meng is a chemistry PhD student at MIT Department of Chemistry studying synthetic inorganic chemistry in the Suess Lab.

Iron-sulfur clusters are found in enzymes throughout living organisms and play essential roles in photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the production of important biological compounds. But scientists are still working to understand exactly how these clusters function and what makes them capable of carrying out such complex chemical reactions.

At the Suess Lab, Meng creates synthetic versions of iron-sulfur clusters to study their structures and chemical reactions. By carefully controlling how the atoms are arranged, he can investigate their behavior in ways that aren’t always possible inside living organisms.

🔗learn more about Alvin and his research: https://t.co/zRkFI3CdXD

#nationalchemistryweek #chemistry #mit #science #HertzFellowship

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Thinking about applying to the Hertz Fellowship? Read this ⬇️

The Hertz Fellowship is one of the most prestigious and competitive PhD fellowships in STEM, offering up to 5 years of funding and unmatched freedom to explore bold, high-impact research in applied science, engineering, and mathematics.

In this video, current Hertz Fellows share what they wish they knew when they were applying, how they overcame self-doubt, what the process taught them, and why they're so glad they applied.

Reasons to Apply
• Full graduate funding for your PhD
• Research freedom and interdisciplinary flexibility
• Lifelong community of STEM innovators
• Support beyond academia—including entrepreneurship and public service

➡️ 2027 Hertz Fellowship applications are due October 30. Start your application today: https://t.co/8c6OBDI8ls

#phdlife #graduatelife #science #fellowships

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Meet 2026 Hertz Fellow Matthew Werneken, an astronomy PhD student at Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian studying how galaxies form and evolve by examining the hot and cold gases that surround them, known as the circumgalactic medium. 🌌

Through astronomical observations and scientific instrumentation, Matthew is working to understand how gas moves in and out of galaxies and what this reveals about the evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies across the universe.

Before Harvard, Matthew studied at Columbia University, where he helped lead a satellite mission to investigate this hard-to-detect gas.

🔗 Learn more about Matthew and his astrophysics research: https://t.co/QGBVmkufVi

#astronomy #galaxy #research

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Hertz Fellow Julius Lucks and his team at Northwestern University are using fluorescent RNA to develop a new way to detect contaminants in drinking water. 💧🔬

Their technology, called ROSALIND, uses RNA-based biosensors to detect water contaminants and could help make water quality testing more accessible outside traditional laboratories.

Now being tested in communities in Kenya and the Chicago area, ROSALIND is bringing new possibilities to environmental science and global health.

Learn more 🔗 https://t.co/rD4FgFfuZi

#environmentalscience #chemistry #biotechnology #globalhealth

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Congratulations to the newest Nobel laureates! 👏 As this year’s announcements continue, we’re celebrating discoveries that change how we see the world—and the universe. 🌌

Among past honorees is Hertz Fellow John Mather, whose Nobel Prize-winning research helped deepen our understanding of the afterglow of the Big Bang.

Supported by his Hertz Fellowship, Mather’s graduate research helped lay the groundwork for NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer mission, enabling scientists to measure this radiation with unprecedented precision.

Read how his early research helped transform our understanding of the cosmos: https://t.co/IIUgz8b90p

#NobelWeek #Space #NobelLaureates #HertzFoundation

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

@suffiyanmalikk @adamgrosser Send us a DM, @suffiyanmalikk!

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Thank you, @adamgrosser, for the incredible highlight of the Hertz Foundation and for your continued support of our mission.

We’re grateful that you see what makes the Hertz community so special: exceptional people with bold ideas and the potential to make a lasting impact across science, technology, and beyond.

Watch Adam’s conversation with @suffiyanmalikk to hear his perspective on the Hertz Fellowship, alternative education models, and the value of recognizing talent early.🎙️

#HertzFellows #HertzFellowship #Science #Innovation

[Suffiyan Malik @suffiyanmalikk]

TIL that @DarioAmodei is a @HertzFoundation fellow, yes the same as @Hertz the rental car company we know of. This is another very interesting list of people which doesn't get enough coverage

@adamgrosser and I discussed alternative education models on the show and different fellowships that have been successful including the @thielfellowship

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

📢 2027 Hertz Application is currently accepting submissions through Oct. 30, 2026.

To start your application today, visit: https://t.co/SbHiIyGnOD

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

@suffiyanmalikk @DarioAmodei @Hertz @adamgrosser Great interview! Thank you, @adamgrosser, for the wonderful shout-out and your continued support of the Hertz community! 🤩

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Congratulations to Hertz Fellow Vaibhav Mohanty on another exciting milestone for his work on Fitness Landscape Design. 🏆

This past week, @mohantymusic received a Best Poster Award at the inaugural New England Computational Biology Conference, a partner conference of the International Society for Computational Biology hosted at Microsoft Research.

The award comes just a month after the research was published in PNAS. Fitness Landscape Design (FLD)—an idea Mohanty first pitched during his Hertz Fellowship interview—brings together physics, chemistry, and biology to identify antibodies that could reshape how a virus evolves and limit potentially harmful evolutionary paths.

Join us in congratulating Vaibhav on his latest recognition! 👏 Read more about his research: https://t.co/9gUcvZ0nMy

#HertzFellows #Science #Physics #Biology

[Vaibhav Mohanty, PhD @mohantymusic]

Thank you to @NewEngCompBio for a terrific inaugural #NECB2026, an @iscb partner conference hosted at @MSFTResearch!

Honored & grateful to receive a Best Poster Award for fitness landscape design (FLD)!
FLD paper 1: https://t.co/PvmpGJVfPE
FLD preprint 2:
https://t.co/S7taL5ZZ9b

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

📢 Registration is open for our fall Innovation Hour, “Chemistry’s Role in Environmental Solutions.”

Join us on Oct. 30 to hear Hertz Fellows Julius Lucks and Mahesh Mahanthappa discuss how their research in chemistry and materials science is advancing sustainable solutions to environmental challenges and where they see the science headed next. 🧪

Hertz Fellow Kurtis Carsch will moderate the conversation, followed by a live audience Q&A.

🔗 Register today for this free virtual event: https://t.co/QGBVmkufVi

#webinar #chemistry #science #Innovation #hertzfellows #research

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Hertz Fellow Dan Roberts is part of an OpenAI research team taking on some of of mathematics' most famous unsolved problems.

Last Tuesday, OpenAI said its AI systems produced a proposed solution to the Navier–Stokes problem, one of seven Millennium Prize Problems. Roberts helped coordinate ideas across thousands of AI agents working toward a solution.

Read more in The New York Times: https://t.co/HCZAQDQmHO

#AI #News #Science #HertzFellows #OpenAI

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Got lunch plans? Join some of our Hertz Fellows in just a few minutes for a live Q&A about the Hertz Fellowship application and interview process.

Get your login information here: https://t.co/xWBOe0N2X8

#Fellowship #Science #HigherEducation

[Hertz Foundation @HertzFoundation]

Last call! 📣 Join us tonight at 6:00 PM ET to talk with Hertz Fellows about the application and interview process.

Meet tonight’s speakers and get your login here — if you haven’t already: https://t.co/FombfBW8z9

Bring your questions and hear directly from our Fellows about what makes a strong candidate, applying without published research, navigating a gap year, preparing for interviews, and more.

Can’t make it tonight? Join us Monday, Sept. 14 at noon ET for our next application info session. Register here: https://t.co/8rgYK9N7V5

#HertzFellows #2027HertzFellowship #Fellowship #GraduateStudents