Schmidt Sciences will provide up to $20 million over five years to eight 2026 Schmidt Polymaths, giving each as much as $2.5 million to pursue research beyond their established fields, including work on immunity, climate-resilient crops, AI and cosmology.
Allon Klein will study invertebrate immune systems; Blake Richards will use human-behavior data to train AI models for neuroscience; Bo Wang will investigate the evolution of warm-bloodedness; Grace X. Gu will combine food science, AI and manufacturing to design personalized edible products; Hernan Garcia will develop climate-resilient crops; Lauren Zarzar will study reactions in confined spaces; Nicholas Bellono will examine communication between organisms in close partnerships; and Zohreh Davoudi will use quantum tools to study cosmology.
The funding is flexible, intended to let recipients test methods conventional grants may not support. Applicants had to earn tenure or an equivalent milestone within the previous three years and show research across multiple fields. Universities worldwide nominated candidates, who were evaluated on past accomplishments and future ambitions. The 2026 group is the sixth cohort, joining a community of 35 Schmidt Polymaths. Earlier cohorts have created heat-powered molecular computers, used food DNA from wastewater to study diets, and found mathematical formulas with AI.
