Schmidt Science Fellows Program

Owned by shendon
Last updated: Oct 23, 2017
3 min read

CS Deadline: 10/31/2017 by 11:59PM
Grad College Deadline: 11/2/2017
External Deadline: 11/13/2017

Schmidt Science Fellows Program – Postdoctoral Fellowships in Natural Sciences, Engineering, Math, & Computing

The Graduate College invites nominations for a new and exciting postdoctoral fellowship program.  The Schmidt Family Foundation, founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy Schmidt, has recently launched the Schmidt Science Fellows Program. The program offers an innovative 11-month postdoctoral experience to students from the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computing-oriented disciplines.  Targeting students who are near completion of their PhDs, the program offers training in fields outside of the student’s current area of expertise.  The goal is to introduce Fellows to the ideas, practices, methods, and cultures of other scientific disciplines, thereby exposing Fellows to new topics, new ways of thinking, and new people who can help guide Fellows toward new paths to success.   

Only students who expect to complete their PhDs by July 2018 (but no earlier than May 2017) are eligible.  The fellowship offers a $100,000 stipend, and it provides courses and research experiences at some of the world’s leading academic institutions along with hands-on work in field-leading laboratories.  

The Schmidt Family Foundation has invited only select universities to participate in the fellowship program, and the University of Illinois is one of those universities.  We are allowed to submit five representatives for consideration in the national competition, and the Graduate College will coordinate the campus competition to select those five representatives.  The campus competition will operate via departmental nomination, and eligible departments may submit up to three nominations each.  

The program looks for applicants who demonstrate:

  • Scientific Curiosity: the desire to achieve a broad level of exposure to and knowledge in cutting-edge innovations and research across the sciences.
  • Extraordinary Achievement: a clear record of academic achievement in the sciences at leading institutions of higher learning.
  • Intellectual Spark: a high degree of intelligence, energy, and intellectual curiosity that will drive future scientific discoveries.
  • Global Ambitions: the will to make a lasting impact in the sciences and society, conducting research and pursuing knowledge that will benefit the world. 
  • Collaborative Spirit: a demonstrated history of effective collaboration with diverse team members.
  • Computing Interest: a general interest in modern computing and data science topics.
  • Alignment with the Program: an interest in pursuing a year or more of postdoctoral study in a field different from the topic of study for what the applicant received his/her doctorate.

The fellowship offers 11 months of support (additional support may be possible at the discretion of the Foundation). The award provides:

  • $100,000 stipend.
  • Allowance for personal travel.
  • Coverage of costs for global meetings.
  • Courses and hands-on research experiences at leading academic and research institutions.

Additional Information:
https://www.grad.illinois.edu/fellowship/index.cfm?action=main.fellowship&fid=4777
https://schmidtsciencefellows.org/fellows-selection/




 Eligibility

In the first year of the Program, we plan to select 10-15 individuals as Schmidt Science Fellows. Applicants must:

  • Attend an eligible university.  The program operates by invitation only, so only students at those invited universities are eligible for nomination. (The University of Illinois is an invited university).
  • Receive a PhD in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, or computing between May 2017 and July 2018.
  • Be nominated by their university.
 Submission Details (by 10/31/2017)

Students must be nominated by their department, and each eligible department may submit up to three nominations. Applicants and letter writers should each submit their respective materials to the department's contact person (check with the Director of Graduate Studies for appropriate contact person).

Required Materials:

  1. Your current CV/resume.

  2. Personal Statement (2 page maximum) - should explain why you are interested in the program and what the student aims to achieve during and after the program. The statement must be single spaced, in Times New Roman with 12 point font and 1 inch margins.

  3. Dissertation Summary (2 page maximum) - The summary must be single spaced, in Times New Roman with 12 point font and 1 inch margins. A supplemental one-page "References Cited" section is also allowed.

  4. Letters of recommendation - three, one of which must be from the advisor.

  5. Current Illinois transcript (unofficial is acceptable, but official is preferred).

Materials should be submitted by 11:59PM on 10/31/17 to Samantha Hendon (2237 SC).

Note: Electronic documents are preferred and should be submitted as PDFs, Word documents, or plain-text files. Students, please include your netid in your file names (e.g. netid_cv.pdf). Letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to Samantha.