The Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program funds high-risk, innovative projects by providing multi-year grants to top researchers in critical areas from AI to climate change.
NEW YORK—Six groundbreaking researchers have been awarded up to $2.5 million each over five years as part of the prestigious Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program. These individuals will join an international cohort of 21 Polymaths across six countries, recognized for their innovative approaches in pushing scientific boundaries.
The Polymath Program provides multi-year, flexible grants designed to support high-risk, cutting-edge research that traditional funding often overlooks. Past awardees have tackled challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and improving healthcare data access.
This year, the program received 117 applications from 65 universities and partners. Senior scientists, previous awardees, and other experts evaluated the applicants based on their past achievements, particularly their ability to conduct high-impact research, and the potential of their future projects.
“Curiosity doesn’t operate in a silo, and neither should science,” said Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Sciences. “That’s why we support several initiatives to enable researchers to pursue interdisciplinary hypotheses, in collaboration. The Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program allows bold, creative thinkers to pursue knowledge across boundaries and in doing so, to help all of us better understand the deep interconnections between people, planet and universe.”
Polymath awardees benefit from an annual gathering of winners, which fosters collaboration and further research opportunities. The recipients are chosen from the top 5 percent of applicants and are granted funding to continue their work within three years of achieving tenure.
“We are delighted to support the Polymaths to pursue what excites them. Through our funding, we hope to achieve breakthroughs and transform the way science is conducted,” said Stu Feldman, chief scientist at Schmidt Sciences.
Schmidt Sciences funds interdisciplinary research across a wide range of fields through programs like Schmidt Science Fellows and the Polymath Program, which began in 2021. The 2024 Polymaths are:
- Ashleigh Theberge, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Urology at the University of Washington, will investigate how to personalize drug treatments and dosages using AI, remote specimen collection, and biochemical mapping at the cellular level.
- Lawrence David, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University, aims to develop new genomics methods to improve sustainable diets and food systems globally. His work will focus on making it easier to gather consistent, objective data on diets worldwide.
- Neil Dasgupta, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Michigan, will study carbon dioxide recycling technologies as part of the fight against climate change. His research will focus on system design, manufacturing, and the economics of recycled carbon products to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- Orit Peleg, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute, plans to investigate how communication evolved across different animal species, particularly in the group cognition of social animals.
- Sam Gershman, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University’s Center for Brain Science, will explore how single-cell organisms exhibit intelligence and its implications for more complex organisms and AI system design.
- Stephanie Palmer, Associate Professor of Organismal Biology, Anatomy, and Physics at the University of Chicago, will examine how human computational abilities are shaped by evolutionary history, focusing on neural networks in the brain and biochemical networks within cells.