MIT affiliates win 2026 Hertz Foundation Fellowships, 12 awardees

The Hertz Foundation awarded its 2026 Graduate Fellowships on June 11, naming 12 doctoral students as fellows, nine of whom are affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The awards fund multi-year doctoral research in applied sciences, engineering and mathematics.

The winners include PhD candidates and early doctoral researchers working across experimental and theoretical fields. The Hertz Foundation selects fellows for demonstrated originality and technical depth, and the 2026 cohort lists projects that span foundational science, engineering design and mathematics with potential real-world applications.

Who received the awards

The 12 fellows were selected from a national applicant pool in a process that emphasizes independent research potential and technical creativity. Nine recipients are MIT students or alumni, representing multiple departments and cross-disciplinary labs. The remaining fellows are enrolled at institutions across the United States. Each fellow will receive multi-year support intended to cover graduate study expenses and to give recipients the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-reward research directions.

Hertz Foundation fellowships traditionally support the full length of a PhD, subject to annual review, and aim to free recipients from restrictive grant conditions so they can pursue problem-driven work. For many fellows the award reduces reliance on stipend-level teaching or short-term contracts, allowing a focus on research milestones such as instrument development, mathematical theory, or prototype engineering.

Fields and research emphasis

The 2026 cohort lists projects in applied mathematics, materials science, robotics and systems engineering, among other areas. Several fellows are investigating computational methods for complex physical systems, while others focus on experimental platforms that require integrating hardware, software and mathematical modeling. The range reflects the Hertz Foundation mandate to prioritize work that addresses pressing technical challenges while advancing fundamental understanding.

Hertz peer review places weight on the applicant's technical record, letters from advisers, and a written case for independence and innovation. The foundation also considers whether the candidate's proposed work will benefit from long-term, flexible support. Fellows typically receive mentorship resources and community connections that are intended to accelerate early career development.

The foundation has historically prized applicants who combine depth in a core discipline with the willingness to cross traditional boundaries. The 2026 fellows include candidates whose research teams span departments, signaling increasing collaboration across computational, experimental and theoretical lines.

Why it matters

The awards provide sustained, flexible funding that can change a doctoral program's trajectory, letting recipients pursue riskier or longer-term experiments that standard grants may not cover. For MIT and other institutions, a large share of Hertz fellows in one year highlights the institutions producing early-career researchers with strong independent potential. The fellowships also direct private philanthropic capital toward fundamental and applied research at a formative stage of scholars' careers, shaping which technical directions receive sustained attention and resources.