The David and Lucile Packard Foundation names 18 of the nation’s most innovative early-career scientists and engineers as recipients of the 2016 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering, according to the organization. Each Packard Fellow will reportedly receive a grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.
The Packard Foundation established the Fellowships program in 1988 to provide early-career scientists with flexible funding and the freedom to take risks and explore new frontiers in their fields, according to the organization. Each year, the Foundation invites 50 universities to nominate two faculty members for consideration. The Packard Fellowships Advisory Panel, a group of 12 internationally-recognized scientists and engineers, evaluates the nominations and recommends Packard Fellows for approval by the Packard Foundation board of trustees. Packard Fellows must be faculty members who are eligible to serve as principal investigators on research in the natural and physical sciences or engineering, and must be within the first three years of their faculty careers. Disciplines that are considered include physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science and all branches of engineering.
The Fellowships program was reportedly inspired by David Packard’s commitment to strengthen university-based science and engineering programs in the United States, recognizing that the success of the Hewlett-Packard Company, which he cofounded, was derived in large measure from research and development in university laboratories.
Since 1988, the Foundation has awarded $378 million to support 559 scientists and engineers from 52 top national universities, according to the organization. The Packard Fellowships are reportedly among the nation’s largest nongovernmental fellowships, designed to allow maximum flexibility in how the funding is used. Packard Fellows have gone on to achieve significant accomplishments, receiving additional awards and honors that include the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Fields Medal, the Alan T. Waterman Award, MacArthur Fellowships and elections to the National Academies, according to the organization.
For more information, visit: www.packard.org