The Davidson Fellows scholarship awards $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 scholarships to gifted and high-achieving students, 18 years old or under, who have completed a significant piece of work.
We’re thrilled to announce the 2026 Fellows! Fellows have completed graduate-level portfolios that have the potential to benefit society. The 2026 class will receive scholarships in the STEM and humanities fields.
Positive contributions to society made by the 2026 Fellows include:
- Building an AI-powered smartphone and wearable-sensor system that assesses older adults’ fall risk through walking-pattern analysis, helping identify early changes in balance and mobility, guide preventive action, and support safer, more independent living. (Ruoqi Li and Jason Yang, Laureates, pictured left)
- Developing a physics-informed machine-learning system to better predict clear-air turbulence, helping pilots and airlines anticipate hazardous conditions and make air travel safer and more comfortable. (Aditya Sengupta, Laureate, pictured right)
- Creating a CRISPR-based blood test that detects tuberculosis DNA and drug-resistant mutations, offering a potential alternative to sputum-based testing that could expand access to screening for children, immunocompromised patients, and people in resource-limited settings. (Austin Jin)
- Developing an eco-friendly, integrated approach to managing citrus greening disease that combines a curry leaf-derived treatment, localized steam therapy, and an AI-powered diagnostic tool—helping growers monitor tree health, reduce reliance on conventional antibiotics, and protect the sustainability of citrus farming. (Tanishka Aglave)
- Advancing a minimally invasive blood-based method for detecting pancreatic cancer by using magnetic nanoparticles to isolate cancer-associated extracellular vesicles and analyze their DNA—an approach that could support earlier diagnosis, when patients may have more treatment options. (Audrey Zheng)