The Stanford Science Fellows program is focused on incubating new directions in foundational scientific research by an interdisciplinary community of independent postdoctoral scholars from around the globe, driven by a sense of wonder about the natural world.
The goals of the Stanford Science Fellows program are:
- To deepen our understanding of the natural world by advancing and bridging disciplines in the physical, mathematical, and life sciences.
- To provide opportunities for exceptionally qualified early-career scientists to develop academic leadership skills focused on fostering scientific discovery, acquire interdisciplinary approaches to foundational scientific research, and broaden science communication skills.
- To recognize and support scholars who bring a diversity of perspectives, identities, and backgrounds, including those from groups who are underrepresented in the sciences.
- To build community at Stanford around frontier research challenges.
- To provide flexibility and resources to bold, independent thinkers to pursue their own scientific research visions.
As independent postdoctoral scholars, Stanford Science Fellows will have opportunities to work with multiple faculty and use facilities within Stanford’s Schools of Humanities and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Earth, as well as at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
A committee of dedicated Stanford faculty from departments across the natural sciences will select the fellows and afterward regularly meet with them to provide mentorship and assistance throughout the duration of the fellowship. The program will include community-building activities to foster career development and leadership skills, and workshops, seminars, informal lunches and dinners, and discussions with Stanford faculty and visitors on current topics throughout the natural sciences. Fellows will work with traditional and modern media, in small groups and one-on-one with writers and guest speakers, to develop skills that will enable them to become more effective science educators and communicators.