Emergency Relief Fund for Packard Fellows

Emergency Relief Fund for Packard Fellows is sponsored by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Provides rapid-response grants to Packard Fellows affected by disruptions in federal research funding, ensuring continuity of their research programs.

New Emergency Relief Fund Helps Packard Fellows Continue Research • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation New Emergency Relief Fund Helps Packard Fellows Continue Research You might be looking for: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Packard Fellows Emergency Relief Fund, a $3.

3 million rapid-response initiative created to support Packard Fellows affected by recent shifts in federal research funding. Administered by the Science Philanthropy Alliance, the fund was created to preserve the postdoctoral workforce by providing short-term support for Fellows that faced federal funding disruptions or cancellations.

Through a streamlined application and selection process, the program awarded grants of up to $75,000, plus indirect costs, to help sustain research programs and maintain the postdoctoral workforce during a period of uncertainty in the funding landscape.

Since 1988, the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering has supported early-career scientists and engineers with flexible funding that gives them the freedom to take risks, explore new frontiers in their fields, and follow bold ideas wherever they lead. The Emergency Relief Fund’s operation mirrors the Fellows program’s principles of trust and autonomy.

“The Packard Fellows program is built on the belief that investing in outstanding early-career scientists helps strengthen the next generation of scientific leaders and leads to discoveries that benefit society for decades to come,” said JR Littlejohn, Vice President of Environment and Science at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

“This emergency fund was created to help Fellows continue pursuing bold ideas during a period of significant uncertainty. ” Developed by an Advisory Group that included several Fellows, the fund prioritized early- and mid-career researchers while remaining open to Fellows across career stages. “Scientific discovery depends on people,” said France Córdova, President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance.

“This fund ensures that talented scientists and their teams are able to continue pursuing the curiosity-driven research that advances knowledge and benefits society. ” Together, these efforts reflect a shared commitment to helping Fellows sustain their research during a period of unusual disruption.

“The creation of this fund demonstrates the power of philanthropy to respond quickly when the research ecosystem faces unexpected challenges,” said Sue Merrilees, Senior Director of Philanthropic Advising at the Science Philanthropy Alliance.

“By creating an accelerated process and distributing awards rapidly, we were able to help 41 Fellows maintain momentum in their research and continue exploring bold new ideas wherever they may lead. ” 2026 Packard Fellows Emergency Relief Fund Award Recipients Briana Abrahms – University of Washington Roxanne Beltran – University of California, Santa Cruz Arpita Bose – Washington University in St.

Louis Ritchie Chen – University of California, San Francisco Xiang Cheng – University of Minnesota Dragomir Davidovic – Georgia Institute of Technology Ryan Foley – University of California, Santa Cruz Elad Harel – Michigan State University Weizhe Hong – University of California, Los Angeles Pinshane Huang – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Michael Jewett – Stanford University Pieter Johnson – University of Colorado Boulder Kellie Jurado – University of Pennsylvania Takaki Komiyama – University of California, San Diego Tian Li – Purdue University Yuzhang Li – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Jingchun Li – University of Colorado Boulder Bo Li – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Mengxia Liu – Yale University Jeffrey Markowitz – Georgia Institute of Technology Peter McMahon – Cornell University Julia Mundy – Harvard University Dipti Nayak – University of California, Berkeley David Nicewicz – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Mia Petljak – NYU Grossman School of Medicine Sabine Petry – Princeton University Santiago Ramirez – University of California, Davis Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz – University of California, Santa Cruz Tapio Schneider – California Institute of Technology Leslie Schoop – Princeton University Yun S.

Song – University of California, Berkeley Jay Strader – Michigan State University Jonathan V.

Sweedler – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dmitri Talapin – University of Chicago Weixin Tang – University of Chicago Ashleigh Theberge – University of Washington Hawa Racine Thiam – Stanford University Francois Tissot – California Institute of Technology Emily Troemel – University of California, San Diego Da Yang – Stanford University Yang Yang – University of California, Santa Barbara The Packard Foundation Welcomes Steve Bullock to Its Board of Trustees America at 250: A Time to Imagine, Not Just Reflect These Robotic Jellyfish Could Help Us Better Understand the Ocean Foundation Newsletter, May 2026 U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Is A Devastating Setback for Voting Rights