Grisha Spektor becomes a Schmidt Science Fellow
Technion graduate student Grisha Spektor of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering joins the Eric and Wendy Schmidt 2019 Class of Science Fellows. His aim is to shrink the most precise instruments science has developed to a chip-scale device for use in seismology and ultrasound.
Grisha Spektor of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Eric and Wendy Schmidt today have announced the 20 members of the 2019 Class of Schmidt Science Fellows – a program of Schmidt Futures, in partnership with the Rhodes Trust – at an event in New York City. Among the recipients is Technion graduate Grisha Spektor of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
This is the second year of this innovative post-doctoral program that aims to develop the next generation of interdisciplinary science leaders to tackle the world’s most significant problems and maximize scientific opportunities for society. The new Fellows are planning to take on global challenges and scientific areas spanning health, the environment, clean energy, computer science, smart materials, and many more. The Schmidt Science Fellows program, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust, places Fellows in a new, world-leading research environment immediately following the completion of their Ph.D. studies. This placement must represent a disciplinary pivot from a Fellow’s current work to expose them to new ideas and techniques from a different scientific discipline. Each Fellow will receive personalized mentoring from experienced and internationally-accomplished scientists and is awarded a stipend of $100,000 as part of the program.
This 2019 cohort of Fellows represents 15 countries of origin and joins last year’s inaugural class as part of a growing Schmidt Science Fellows community.
“Grisha works on science at a nano-scale, investigating the interactions between light, matter, and surface waves. His work has implications for manipulating particles and new detector technologies. Grisha aims to work with micro-frequency combs, with the aim of shrinking the most precise instruments science has developed to a chip-scale device. He will explore the limits of these devices to produce extremely sensitive, miniature sensors that could be used in seismology or ultrasound,” says the Rhodes Trust website.
2019 Class of Schmidt Science Fellows
“Our mission at Schmidt Futures is to bet early on talented people who hold the promise of making the world a better place,” said Eric Schmidt, Co-Founder of Schmidt Futures. “That is what the Schmidt Science Fellows program is all about. This new class of Fellows represents some of the best aspiring minds in science and technology today, and we look forward to helping them harness these gifts for the betterment of society.”
“We are tremendously excited to welcome this new class to the growing community of Schmidt Science Fellows,” said Wendy Schmidt, Co-Founder of Schmidt Futures, President of the Schmidt Family Foundation, and Co-Founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. “They are truly exceptional in their insight, intellect, and eagerness to work across scientific disciplines and pursue discovery in unprecedented ways. We cannot wait to see what they will accomplish in the years to come.”
Through an initial commitment of at least $25 million for the first three years, this innovative fellowship is part of a broader $100 million effort by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to promote scientific leadership and interdisciplinary research over the next decade and beyond.
“We are delighted to welcome 20 emerging science leaders into the Schmidt Science Fellows community,” commented Dr. Megan Wheeler, Executive Director of the Schmidt Science Fellows program. “Throughout their Fellowship year, they will engage in a unique interdisciplinary research placement, personalized scientific mentoring, and professional development training with the aim of advancing discovery and helping them to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.”
l-r: Eric Schmidt, Grisha Spektor, Wendy Schmidt.
In addition to the post-doctoral placement, Schmidt Science Fellows attend four Global Meetings as a group during their Fellowship year at international science and innovation clusters. These convenings enable Fellows to engage with new concepts, to visit leading science facilities, and to engage with internationally-renowned thought-leaders from science, business, policy, and society.
The Schmidt Science Fellows program is supported by many leading science, engineering, and technology institutions around the world. In addition to the institutions that host Fellows for their placements, many others are involved through the identification and nomination of candidates and by contributing to Global Meetings.