MIT Researchers Awarded Prestigious Schmidt Science Fellowships to Drive Innovative Interdisciplinary Advances

Four exceptional scholars from MIT have received the distinguished Schmidt Science Fellowships, empowering them to pursue groundbreaking interdisciplinary research that transcends traditional boundaries and addresses critical global challenges.

Overview of the Schmidt Science Fellowship Program

These four fellows are among a select group of 29 researchers worldwide granted postdoctoral support for one or two years. The fellowship provides an annual stipend of $100,000, personalized mentoring, and access to the program’s Global Meeting Series. This unique initiative fosters collaboration among leaders across science, business, policy, and society to inspire innovative research beyond their original PhD focus.

Juncal Arbelaiz’s Pioneering Work in Decentralized Intelligence

PhD candidate Juncal Arbelaiz focuses on developing optimal decentralized intelligence for spatially-distributed dynamical systems under MIT mentorship. She is enthusiastic about leveraging her fellowship to integrate systems biology into understanding how the nervous system encodes and processes sensory information, aiming to enhance safety-critical applications in artificial intelligence.

Xiangkun Cao’s Contributions to Carbon Capture and Sustainability

Postdoctoral researcher Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao specializes in optofluidics and collaborates on carbon capture and utilization strategies with MIT and Northwestern University professors. Cao envisions integrated carbon capture unlocking both scientific breakthroughs and economic opportunities while combating climate change.

“Integrating carbon capture and utilization can simultaneously advance science and create economic value while mitigating global climate change.”

Sandya Subramanian’s Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience Research

Sandya Subramanian, with a PhD from Harvard-MIT and now a Stanford postdoc, investigates interactions between the autonomic nervous system, brain, and gut. Her work aims to improve physiological monitoring to aid clinical decision-making for various disorders.

Hannah Zlotnick’s Advances in Biofabrication for Joint Health

Undergraduate alumna Hannah Zlotnick transitioned from biological and mechanical engineering into biofabrication after completing her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. She focuses on developing tissue models to assess knee joints in osteoarthritis treatment, hoping to pioneer new therapies for inflammatory joint diseases.