Four MIT-affiliated researchers have been awarded prestigious 2026 Hertz Foundation Fellowships, unlocking five years of financial support and access to an elite network of innovators. The recipients—Annika Marschner, Alvin Q. Meng, Zachary S. Siegel, and Matthew Wanta—join 19 other fellows selected nationwide for their potential to push the boundaries of science and technology.
The Hertz Fellowship, established in 1963, stands as one of the most competitive and impactful awards in technology and science. Beyond substantial funding covering full tuition and stipends, the program grants fellows lifelong access to mentorship, networking events, and collaborative opportunities with over 1,300 alumni. This collective expertise has historically catalyzed breakthroughs in advanced medical therapies, defense technologies, and space exploration, including contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope.
Four MIT innovators recognized for transformative research
Each 2026 fellow brings a distinct focus to their graduate work, blending technical depth with interdisciplinary ambition.
Annika Marschner ’26, a mechanical engineering graduate, will begin her PhD at MIT this fall. Her undergraduate research spanned biointerfacing and bio-inspired systems, including the development of a custom benchtop stereoscope-compatible incubator and an extrusion-based desktop bioprinter for MIT’s Raman Lab. She also contributed to light-based filamented bioprinting systems at ETH Zürich’s Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication Lab, alongside large-scale robotic hardware designs. Marschner’s undergraduate thesis centered on enhancing the speed and dexterity of dynamic motions in bio-inspired robotic limbs. As a graduate student, she aims to advance assistive medical technology and surgical robotics by refining both hardware and control systems.
Alvin Q. Meng, a doctoral student in inorganic chemistry, explores the fundamental interactions shaping chemical structure and reactivity. Under the mentorship of Professor Daniel L.M. Suess, Meng studies iron-sulfur clusters—a critical component in biological electron transfer processes. Born in Tianjin, China, and immigrating to the U.S. at age 10, Meng earned dual degrees in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Virginia. His undergraduate research involved synthesizing and characterizing unusual binuclear tungsten complexes, focusing on carbon–carbon bonds linking metal-bound five-membered rings.
Zachary S. Siegel is pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), where his work intersects robotics, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. A summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, Siegel earned a BSE in computer science with a minor in philosophy, earning honors such as Tau Beta Pi and the Outstanding Computer Science Independent Work Prize. His senior thesis, advised by professors Tom Griffiths and Jacob Andreas, examined how humans infer others’ goals in open-ended environments using Bayesian inference. Siegel’s doctoral research seeks to build machines that learn and reason like humans—systems capable of generalizing from limited data and composing known skills to solve novel problems. At MIT, he is advised by Leslie P. Kaelbling, Tomás Lozano-Pérez, and Joshua B. Tenenbaum.
Matthew Wanta, an incoming doctoral student at MIT, holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematical sciences from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His research integrates machine learning, probabilistic modeling, and computer vision into autonomous systems, particularly for drone swarms and search operations. Wanta collaborated with DEVCOM Armaments Center to develop computer vision models for detecting defects in artillery munitions, enabling rapid, nonintrusive quality control. He also contributed to autonomous aerial search frameworks for U.S. Special Operations Command and Army C5ISR organizations, focusing on probabilistic target localization and multi-agent coordination. A graduate of Sapper School and Astronaut Scholar, Wanta commissioned as an Army Cyber Corps officer.
A legacy of innovation and collaboration
The Hertz Fellowship’s selection committee emphasized the 2026 cohort’s fearlessness in tackling uncharted scientific challenges. Philip Welkhoff, a Hertz Fellow and director of the malaria program at the Gates Foundation, noted, “Each recipient demonstrated remarkable creativity, grit, and vision. The freedom to innovate provided by this fellowship will unlock their potential to redefine what’s possible in technology and science.”
With these four MIT scholars joining the ranks of Hertz Fellows, the foundation continues its tradition of nurturing pioneers who bridge disciplines and drive societal impact. Their work—spanning robotics, AI, chemistry, and defense technologies—exemplifies how targeted support can accelerate transformative research.
The 2026 fellowship recipients will begin their five-year terms this fall, poised to shape the next generation of technological breakthroughs.
AI summary
MIT’ye bağlı dört bilim insanı, prestijli Hertz Vakfı bursunu kazanarak beş yıllık tam destek kazandı. Bursiyerlerin projeleri ve geleceğe dair hedefleri hakkında detaylar.
