Penn fourth-year and recent alum named 2025 Hertz Fellows

University of Pennsylvania fourth-year Eric Tao and Class of 2023 graduate Suraj Chandran have each been awarded a 2025 Hertz Fellowship in applied science, engineering, and mathematics by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation.

The Hertz Fellowship provides as much as five years of funding, valued at as much as $250,000, and the research flexibility and independence to pursue “solutions to some of our most vexing challenges.” Tao and Chandran are among 19 in the nation to receive the competitive doctoral fellowship this year. In addition to financial support, Hertz Fellows have access to lifelong programming, such as mentoring, events, and networking.

Tao, from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, is pursuing a joint master’s and bachelor’s degree, majoring in cognitive science, mathematics, linguistics, and logic in the School of Arts & Sciences. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience and physiology at New York University. Tao is interested in investigating how patterns of neural activity within the brain give rise to complex behaviors. He plans to pursue a research career in computational neuroscience. Tao works in the lab of Marc Schmidt, professor of biology, studying the courtship behavior of brown-headed cowbirds, in particular how male cowbirds tailor the songs they sing toward their social environments. A Goldwater Scholar and Dean's Scholar, Tao is co-founder of the Penn Math Contest, an annual event to promote interest and enthusiasm for mathematics among high schoolers, especially those who are new to competing in mathematics contests. Tao is a state event supervisor for the national Science Olympiad competition, a mathematics teaching assistant, and a leader of the Penn Undergraduate Mathematics Society.

Chandran, from Edison, New Jersey, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2023. Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical physics at Columbia University. Chandran develops theoretical and computational methods to probe novel quantum regimes of chemical dynamics and to accelerate the development of efficient, sustainable energy-conversion systems.

Tao and Chandran applied for the Hertz Fellowship with assistance from Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. They are the seventh and eighth Penn affiliates awarded the fellowship since the program started in 1963. It is the first time two Penn affiliates have been chosen in the same year. It is also the first time that a Penn affiliate has been chosen in two consecutive years; Zijian (William) Niu of Penn’s Class of 2024 was selected last year.