4 MIT Students Win Prestigious Hertz Fellowships

Imagine getting a blank check and five years to chase your biggest scientific dreams. That's exactly what four MIT students just received through the 2026 Hertz Foundation Fellowships, one of the most prestigious awards in science and technology.

Annika Marschner, Alvin Meng, Zachary Siegel, and Matthew Wanta were among just 19 scholars selected nationwide. Each receives full tuition plus a living stipend for five years of doctoral research, with no strings attached.

"What particularly impresses me about this cohort is their fearlessness in taking on new challenges," says Philip Welkhoff, who co-led the selection process and directs the malaria program at the Gates Foundation. He's a Hertz Fellow himself, part of a 1,300-strong community that has contributed to everything from the James Webb Space Telescope to advanced medical therapies.

The four researchers bring wildly different expertise to MIT's labs. Marschner, fresh from her mechanical engineering degree, designs surgical robots and assistive medical devices inspired by how our bodies move.

Meng studies the fundamental chemistry of iron-sulfur clusters, the building blocks that could unlock new materials and medicines. Siegel wants computers to think more like humans, combining artificial intelligence with how our brains actually learn and reason.

Wanta comes from West Point, where he built drone swarms for military search and rescue. He also developed computer vision systems that spot defects in artillery munitions, making defense manufacturing safer and faster.

The Ripple Effect

The real magic happens when Hertz Fellows connect. Past recipients have launched collaborative startups, research projects, and technologies that touch billions of lives. The foundation provides lifelong mentoring and networking, turning individual brilliance into collective innovation.

Since 1963, this community has quietly powered some of humanity's biggest scientific leaps. Now these four join those ranks with the freedom to fail, experiment, and potentially discover something that changes everything.

Their work spans from operating rooms to quantum computers, from understanding human cognition to protecting soldiers in the field. That diversity isn't accidental. The Hertz Foundation bets on fearless creativity across disciplines.

What unites them is uncommon grit paired with world-changing vision. These aren't students playing it safe. They're tackling problems others consider too hard, too risky, or too ambitious.

The fellowship's unusual structure matters too. Five years of guaranteed funding means no grant writing, no committee approvals, just pure research. That freedom has historically led to breakthroughs that cautious, incremental science never achieves.

As these four begin their doctoral journeys this fall, they carry not just financial support but the weight of possibility—and a network of over a thousand brilliant minds ready to help them succeed.