2022 Schmidt Science Polymaths

Contact RDS for more information on nomination

UArizona may nominate three candidates.

Achieving tenure should be a moment when professors feel a new sense of freedom that allows them to innovate and attempt new research paths as the head of their own teams. Unfortunately, this time is often coupled with a lack of resources and a pressure to continue producing results within their established research portfolio. The key goal of the Schmidt Science Polymath program (“the program”) is to encourage the best “polymath” scientists to expand their research portfolio by exploring new lines of research that are substantively different from their ongoing and proven research activities. The program will offer long-term research support to recently-tenured professors (within the past 3 years) with remarkable track records and highly promising futures. Awards will consist of USD $500K per year for up to 5 years to support part of a research group. These grants are intended for the exploration of new ideas across disciplines that use new technologies and insights that are generally too new or risky to garner regular support. They are not intended to relieve the researcher of pursuing other grants to continue their mainstream work, nor be large enough to fully support a modern lab. The program will identify and support innovative scientific researchers at this pivotal moment (and potentially the most productive time of their careers) by providing the resources that allow them to substantively explore new lines of research. Instead of focusing on specific research ideas, the goal for the program is to bet on people, their special talents, and their teams - aligning with Schmidt Futures’ overall people-focused approach.

In its 2nd year, the Polymaths program has expanded from a cohort of 2 to 10 awardees. Together, current Polymaths represent 14 institutions across 5 nations, and work in the Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Computational Sciences, Materials Science, & Engineering. Learn more about our current Schmidt Science Polymaths and their work.

Schmidt Futures is seeking the highest quality candidates from a specific and pivotal period in their career. In order to be eligible for nomination to the Schmidt Science Polymaths application process, candidates must meet the following qualifications:

• Have achieved tenure (or equivalent status) within the past 3 years (2019 or after),
• Have a remarkable record of accomplishment in area(s) of science and engineering,
• Have a demonstrated history of pursuing and publishing results in more than one field,
• Demonstrate a need for additional funding to enable new experiments, explorations, or shifts in research directions.

Please note, the application and selection process, as well as all correspondence and documentation associated with the program, will be in English.