Packard Foundation Awards $17.5 Million to 20 Rising Scientists in 2025 Fellowship Class

Prestigious Fellowships Support Early-Career Innovation

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has selected its 2025 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering, according to recent reports. The foundation will award 20 early-career scientists and engineers with $875,000 each over five years to pursue their research ambitions. Sources indicate this brings the total fellowship investment to $17.5 million for the 2025 cohort alone.

Analysts suggest these fellowships are particularly significant because they provide what the foundation describes as “blue-sky thinking” funding that fellows can use in any way they choose. The report states this flexibility even extends to covering personal necessities like child care, allowing researchers to focus fully on their scientific pursuits.

Selection Process and Fellowship Philosophy

The selection process involves 50 universities nominating two faculty members each, according to foundation documentation. A distinguished advisory panel of 12 scientists and engineers then evaluates the 100 nominees before recommending final candidates to the Packard Foundation Board of Trustees. Candidates must be within the first three years of their faculty careers and eligible to serve as principal investigators in natural sciences, physical sciences, or engineering.

Richard Alley, Chair of the Packard Fellowships Advisory Panel and a 1991 Packard Fellow, emphasized the fellowship’s community-building aspect in a news release. “This extraordinary class of Fellows joins a community whose discoveries are shaping the world today and whose ideas will fuel the breakthroughs of tomorrow,” Alley stated. “We’re excited to welcome them to the Fellowship, connect them across fields, and give them the freedom to ask audacious questions.”, according to industry reports

2025 Fellowship Recipients

This year’s fellows represent 19 different universities, with Stanford University being the only institution with two recipients. The fellows and their institutions include:, according to market developments

William Allen, Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University
Charlotte Chan, Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan
James Gaynor, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
Georgia Gkioxari, Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology
Karl Glastad, Department of Biology, University of Rochester
Dohyung Kim, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
Darcy McRose, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Maggie Miller, Department of Mathematics, University of Texas at Austin
Azahara Oliva Gonzalez, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University
Geoffrey Penington, Department of Physics, Stanford University
Mia Petljak, Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University
Andrea Putnam, Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Maarten Sap, Language Technologies Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Mehtaab Sawhney, Department of Mathematics, Columbia University
Michael Skinnider, Ludwig Princeton Branch, Princeton University
Benjamin Snyder, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
James Stroud, Department of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jeannette Tenthorey, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco
Jasmina Wiemann, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, John Hopkins University
Nicole Xu, Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder

Foundation Legacy and Scientific Vision

The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering have been awarded annually since 1988, according to foundation records. The program was established by David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Company, who earned his electrical engineering degrees from Stanford University before serving as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1971.

Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation, highlighted the enduring relevance of their founder’s vision. “David Packard believed that science was the cornerstone of America’s progress,” Lindborg stated. “He invested in science not only because it drives innovation, but because it is a public good that strengthens our society and our shared future.”

Reports indicate that since its inception, the Packard Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support 735 scientists and engineers from 55 universities. The foundation emphasizes that its funding priorities continue to focus on university-based research, children’s health, science, and the environment, honoring the legacy established by David and Lucile Packard when they founded the organization in 1964.

References & Further Reading

This article draws from multiple authoritative sources. For more information, please consult:

• https://www.packard.org/insights/news/the-david-and-lucile-packard-foundation-announces-the-2025-class-of-packard-fellows-for-science-and-engineering/
• https://www.packard.org/what-we-fund/science/packard-fellowships-for-science-and-engineering/packard-fellowships-advisory-panel/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_and_Lucile_Packard_Foundation
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry

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