Awards and Recognition

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Lillian Chin Selected as 2023 Schmidt Science Fellow

June 29, 2023

2018 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Lillian Chin has won the 2023 Schmidt Science Fellowship.

The Schmidt Science Fellowship champions 32 scientists who are early in their careers by supporting their research and providing them with leadership opportunities to tackle important issues in the world through science.

Nominated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lillian will be joining a diverse community of 145 Fellows representing 34 different nationalities.

Lillian is a New York City native whose parents left China and Taiwan to pursue graduate school in the United States. It was her parents who inspired her love for science by bringing her to their labs and discussing their experiments.

In addition to winning the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships, Lillian was also named a 2018 Hertz Fellow as she pursued a PhD at MIT in electrical engineering and computer science. Throughout her PhD, she researched robot body design with an interest in using geometric design to create new materials for safer and more interactive robots.

“I’m really excited about this pivot because there’s a lot that roboticists can learn from how the human body works. Getting the chance to learn about an entirely new field is an invaluable opportunity, and I’m eager to bring what I learn about real bodies to artificial ones,” Lillian said.

As a Schmidt Fellow, Lillian plans on pivoting from robotics to kinesiology to create soft sensorized materials to help cognitive scientists and medical practitioners develop better rehabilitation therapies and practices for patients.

To learn more about the Schmidt Science Fellowship and their 2023 Fellows, visit their website here. ∎