The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has announced the 2021 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering.

Twenty early-career scientists and engineers working in fields including astrophysics, evolutionary biology, engineering, geosciences, nanotechnology, neuroscience, and physics will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research. This year's fellows include physicist Ana Asenjo-Garcia (Columbia University), whose theoretical research focuses on the out-of-equilibrium physics of systems consisting of many atoms and photons, with the aim of developing scalable and efficient applications in quantum information science; chemist Robert Gilliard (University of Virginia), who will work to elucidate novel redox processes and bonding using earth-abundant main-group elements, with a focus on transformations that are important for next-generation energy production and environmental sustainability; geoscientist Karen McKinnon (University of California, Los Angeles), who aims to develop data-driven physical and statistical models for improved understanding and prediction of climate extremes, variability, and change; and Jerzy Szablowski (Rice University), whose team aims to non-invasively communicate with individual brain cells to decode the neural basis of behaviors and treat complex brain disorders.

Established in 1988, the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering are among the nation's largest nongovernmental fellowships and are designed to allow maximum flexibility in how the funding is used.

"At a time when we are confronting so many difficult, intertwined challenges, including climate change, a global pandemic, and racial injustice, I am buoyed by the determination and energy of these twenty scientists and engineers," said Packard Foundation president Nancy Lindborg. "Through their research, creativity, and mentorship to their students and in their labs, these young leaders have the potential to help equip us all to better understand and address the challenges we face."

(Photo credit: David and Lucile Packard Foundation)