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:Hertz Foundation

{{short description|American nonprofit foundation awarding fellowships in the sciences}}

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{{Infobox organization

| name = Fannie and John Hertz Foundation

| logo = Hertz Foundation logo.svg

| founded_date = 1957{{cite web | url=https://www.nonprofitpro.com/article/jay-davis-phd-elected-president-hertz-foundation-414036/all/ | title=Jay Davis, PhD, Elected President of the Hertz Foundation | date=30 October 2009 | website=NonProfitPRO | access-date=21 November 2019 }}

| founder = Fannie and John D. Hertz

| location = Livermore, California, U.S.

| origins =

| key_people = Wendy Connors, President
Stephen D. Fantone, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board
Philip Welkhoff, Ph.D., Senior Fellowship Interviewer

| area_served = United States

| focus = Applied science and engineering

| method = Ph.D. Fellowships

| revenue = $5,055,682{{cite web | url=http://hertzfoundation.org/lib/literature/Hertz-990-6-30-18-Public-copy.pdf | title=Fannie and John Hertz Foundation | website=Hertz Foundation | access-date=3 December 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

| revenue_year = 2018

| expenses = $4,364,123

| expenses_year = 2018

| endowment =

| num_employees =

| owner =

| Non-profit_slogan =

| homepage = {{url|hertzfoundation.org}}

}}

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is an American non-profit organization that awards fellowships to Ph.D. students in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. The fellowship begins with up to $250,000 of financial support over five years of graduate study, granting flexibility and the ability to pursue their own interests, as well as mentoring from alumni fellows.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-08 |title=Five with MIT ties win 2022 Hertz Foundation Fellowships |url=https://news.mit.edu/2022/mit-students-win-hertz-foundation-fellowships-0708 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=MIT News |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}} Hertz Fellows pledge to make their skills available to the United States in times of national emergency.{{Cite web |title=The Hertz Fellowship |url=https://www.hertzfoundation.org/the-fellowship/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=Fannie and John Hertz Foundation |date=3 March 2020 |language=en-US}} Membership as a Hertz Fellow is for life.{{cite web | url=https://www.hertzfoundation.org/the-fellowship/eligibility-benefits/ | title=Eligibility and Benefits | Fannie and John Hertz Foundation | date=3 March 2020 }}

Hertz Fellowship

=History=

{{More citations needed|date=March 2019}}

== Cold War Origins ==

In 1957, during the Cold War era, emigrant Jewish-Hungarian John D. Hertz{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=Daniel |date=2019 |title=Find Your Path: Unconventional Lessons from 36 Leading Scientists and Engineers |url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262537544/find-your-path/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=MIT Press |page=xiii |language=en-US}}{{cite web |date=16 April 2019 |title=The Hertz Corporation Partners with the Hertz Foundation to sponsor 2019 fellow |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-04-16/the-hertz-corporation-partners-with-the-hertz-foundation-to-sponsor-2019-fellow |access-date=21 November 2019 |website=Bloomberg}} established the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation with the purpose of supporting bright young minds in the applied sciences.{{Cite book |last=Peterson's |title=The Best Scholarships for the Best Students |publisher=Peterson's |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7689-3526-4 |language=en}} In the political climate of the time with the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, Hertz's intentions in making this significant contribution towards American scientific excellence were specifically anti-communist. For his significant contribution to the security of the US, Hertz received the highest civilian award given by the Department of Defense in 1958.{{cite web |title=Department of Defense Honors John D. Hertz |url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1958051301/drf1958051301_1_5 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Daily Racing Form (DRF)}}

== Pivot to Graduate Level Research ==

Initially, the Foundation granted undergraduate scholarships to qualified and financially limited mechanical and electrical engineering students. In 1963, the undergraduate scholarship program was phased out and replaced with postgraduate fellowships leading to the award of the Ph.D. The scope of the studies supported by the fellowships was also enlarged to include applied sciences and other engineering disciplines. The intellectual freedom granted by the fellowship was intended to foster "a cross-generational community of research leaders and entrepreneurs." The degree to which this lofty goal has been a success can perhaps be judged by its alumni. Hertz fellows include "Nobel Laureates, CEOs, generals, and best-selling authors."

== Breadth of Alumni Reach ==

With a coterie of some 1,300 recipients over the fellowship's tenure, "[c]onnections among fellows over the years have sparked collaborations in startups, research, and technology commercialization."{{Cite web |date=2024-06-03 |title=Ten with MIT connections win 2024 Hertz Foundation Fellowships |url=https://news.mit.edu/2024/students-win-hertz-foundation-fellowships-0603 |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}} With a ceiling approaching $250,000 for fellowship grants, the fellowship is highly competitive. In recent years, respected universities like Case Western Reserve have initiated companion grants to full fund finalists connected with their institutions with full funding in situations in which they are not selected for the final prize, in testament to the quality of those making applications to the Hertz Foundation.{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-11-12 |title=Case Western Reserve University to offer full funding to Hertz Fellowship finalists |url=https://thedaily.case.edu/case-western-reserve-university-to-offer-full-funding-to-hertz-fellowship-finalists/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=The Daily |publisher=Case Western Reserve University |language=en-US}}

= Selection process =

As of 2024, following a "highly selective" interview process, the Hertz Foundation narrows its field of candidates to approximately 50 finalists for fellowships in applied science, mathematics and engineering. "Recipients must display high academic achievement and the capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their field."{{Cite web |last=Fellman |first=Megan |date=31 May 2024 |title=Northwestern alumnus receives prestigious Hertz Fellowship |url=https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2024/05/northwestern-alumnus-receives-prestigious-hertz-fellowship/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=news.northwestern.edu |language=en}}

15 to 20 of those finalists are named Hertz Fellows and receive up to five years of graduate school funding.

=Competitiveness=

Hertz Fellowships are highly competitive. For the 2017–2018 academic year, [http://hertzfoundation.org/news/pressrelease/1438/The-Fannie-and-John-Hertz-Foundation-Announces-2018-Fellows nearly 800 applicants applied for 10 spots], giving it an acceptance rate of 1.5%. Since 1960, the foundation has made awards to more than 1,300 fellows, with (as of 2022) 309 fellows affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 255 with Stanford University; 104 with the University of California, Berkeley; 95 with the California Institute of Technology; and 76 with Harvard University. These top five universities account for nearly two-thirds of all fellows.{{cite web|url=https://www.hertzfoundation.org/our-fellows/|title=Our Fellows|website=hertzfoundation.org|date=3 March 2020 }}

class="wikitable sortable"

! Institution

! data-sort-type="number" |Fellows (1960-2022)

align="center" |MIT

|align="center" |309

align="center" |Stanford

|align="center" |255

align="center" |Berkeley

|align="center" |104

align="center" |Caltech

|align="center" |95

align="center" |Harvard

|align="center" |76

=Notable Fellows=

In 2018, some 30 Hertz Fellows were recognized by MIT Technology Review, Forbes, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Academy of Sciences and many others for outstanding work in their respective fields.

Thesis Prize

The Hertz Foundation requires that each Fellow furnish the Foundation a copy of his or her doctoral dissertation upon receiving the Ph.D. The Foundation's Thesis Prize Committee examines the Ph.D. dissertations for their overall excellence and pertinence to high-impact applications of the physical sciences. Each Thesis Prize winner receives an honorarium of $5,000.{{cite web |title=Hertz Thesis Prize |url=https://www.hertzfoundation.org/hertz-fellows/awards/hertz-doctoral-thesis-prize/ |website=Fannie and John Hertz Foundation |date=7 April 2020 |access-date=2 March 2024}}

References

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External links

  • [http://www.hertzfoundation.org Hertz Foundation]

{{Livermore, California}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1957 establishments in California

Category:Educational foundations based in the United States

Category:Organizations based in California

Category:Organizations established in 1957