As America marks its 250th anniversary, Schmidt Sciences co-founder Wendy Schmidt reflects on how scientific discovery has always been central to the American story.

A community working group and Schmidt Sciences have co-authored "The Lazuli Space Observatory: Opportunities for time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy" exploring how Lazuli could revolutionize our ability to rapidly detect and characterize transient cosmic events: arxiv.org/abs/2606.17136

🚨 Funding Opportunity We're launching Phase 2 of the Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC), and seeking international, multidisciplinary teams working to deepen our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Awards up to $10M over 5 years. Applications due August 28: buff.ly/RlQRgYP

Do you use freshwater data in your work? Researchers, policymakers, NGOs, engineers and funders, we want your input! We’re running a global survey on how freshwater data, tools, and products are used in research, policy, and water management: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Our first Impact Report is live—A snapshot of how investing in people, ideas and collaboration is accelerating scientific discovery and real-world impact. Explore the stories: www.schmidtsciences.org/2025-report/

It's #WorldWaterDay and Schmidt Sciences is marking it with $33 million in funding to four global research teams building the first comprehensive account of Earth's freshwater, combining 60+ years of data and AI with local knowledge from communities. Read more: buff.ly/GrPFiOw

AI2050 Fellow @AnimaAnandkumar was elected to the @UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, advising UN leadership on emerging science and technology. She joins @Yoshua_Bengio and @DAcemogluMIT—three Schmidt Sciences–supported researchers now serve:

Corinne Scown grew up running barefoot through Sacramento's smoky days. Now she's making sure her kids won't have to. Through our VIFF program, she's turning agricultural biomass — the organic byproducts from farming — into cleaner air. #WomenInScience youtu.be/E-k36CbsCAo

AI is transforming how we work—but we don't yet know how, or where its effects will be felt most acutely. Today we announced over $3 million to support 19 field studies across eight countries to find out. Learn more about the research: buff.ly/eVLCxiu

Packed splinter session at #AAS247 for the announcement of The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System—a modular, rapid-response network of four novel observatories designed to democratize access to the cosmos. Read more about the initiatives here: www.schmidtsciences.org/focus-area-a...

More Astrophysics for More People ✨ Join us for a virtual #AAS247 session and a first look at The Schmidt Observatory System—a new network of ground and space-based initiatives designed to break the traditional limits of discovery. 📆 Jan 7 | 3-5:30pm MT / 5-7:30pm ET Register here: buff.ly/kbbNFuB

The iconic Pachycephalosaurus is heading to the @NMNH! 🦴 Schmidt Sciences co-founders Eric & Wendy Schmidt are proud to support this rare acquisition and the digitization of the National Fossil Collection to unlock data for the global community: buff.ly/1zRRUcO

JUST ANNOUNCED: Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11M to 23 teams globally for our Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI). These projects bring AI to history, archaeology, literature, and film, unlocking new understandings of human culture. Learn more: buff.ly/tvTUYwY

📣 We're Hiring! At Schmidt Sciences, we envision a world where science is bold, collaborative and provides well-researched solutions for planetary challenges. Check out our open roles: www.schmidtsciences.org/careers/

Major milestone in open AI systems. AI2050 Senior Fellow @PercyLiang is directly challenging centralized LLM development with the launch of the Marin Project. (🧵 1 of 2)

What do we lose when AI makes life-changing decisions for us? AI2050 Early Career Fellow Linda Eggert challenges delegation & explores how human rights must shape our tech future. Read her perspective on what's truly at stake: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

Congratulations to AI2050 Senior Fellow Dr. Kelly Chibale for being honored as a Distinguished International Fellow by the @astmh.bsky.social, recognizing his contributions to tropical medicine, chemistry, drug discovery, and global health.

We're excited to welcome 28 new AI2050 Fellows! This 4th cohort of researchers are pursuing projects that include building AI scientists, designing trustworthy models, and improving biological and medical research, among other areas.

This Halloween, step into the world of weird science. Explore AI2050 Fellow Sam Kriegman’s work on xenobots — tiny living machines built from biological cells and the algorithms that invent them . Learn more about Sam’s work as an AI2050 Fellow > buff.ly/lm8iTqn

Astronomers including Schmidt Sciences’ Arpita Roy & Guðmundur Stefánsson have discovered a “super-Earth” orbiting a nearby star 20 light-years away. GJ 251 c lies in the habitable zone — a prime target in the search for life beyond our solar system. Read more: buff.ly/j8eSD3p

When AI shapes decisions in healthcare, finance, or policy, how do we know it’s working as intended? AI2050 Fellow and @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social Assistant Professor Amanda Coston develops methods to make AI more transparent, accountable, and fair. ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

How can we design AI that truly supports people? AI2050 Fellow and Stanford Professor Fei-Fei Li is pioneering human-centered approaches to AI — from robots that assist in daily life to systems that enhance human dignity and well-being. Read more: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

Could life exist in the clouds of Venus? The Morning Star mission, led by MIT’s @saraseager.bsky.social and supported by Schmidt Sciences, will send a probe to search for organic molecules in Venus’s atmosphere. Read more about the mission: nautil.us/seeking-sign... #WorldSpaceWeek #WSW2025

Turning cosmic data into discovery. LINCC Frameworks, a Schmidt Sciences grantee, powers Rubin Observatory’s nightly 20TB sky survey—recently spotting 2,000+ new asteroids in just 10 hours. This is science at scale. Read the article: nautil.us/creating-a-c... #WorldSpaceWeek #WSW2025

Excited to share the latest issue of Nautilus, created in partnership with Schmidt Sciences, which profiles just a handful of the many scientists we support in their pursuit of discovery. www.schmidtsciences.org/wp-content/u...

AI is shaping high-stakes decisions every day. But can it explain itself? AI2050 Early Career Fellow and Assistant Professor at @harvard.edu, Hima Lakkaraju, is closing the gap between policy and practice for trustworthy AI. Read more: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

We're investing $45M over 5 years to launch the Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC). Four global teams will combine AI, advanced observations & modeling to close major carbon cycle gaps, strengthening climate projections worldwide. 🔗 buff.ly/8WVpM9s WIRED coverage: buff.ly/YsLAcRZ

Kai Wang, an AI2050 Fellow at Georgia Tech, designs machine learning solutions for nonprofits tackling maternal health and migrant worker challenges. His approach: cultural context over algorithmic complexity. Read more: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

Our founder @wendyschmidt.bsky.social made @forbes.com's 2025 Sustainability Leaders list. Highlighting how Schmidt Sciences, @schmidtocean.bsky.social and @schmidtfellows.bsky.social advance climate research and discovery through interdisciplinary programs for global benefit: buff.ly/LUokevC

How can AI prevent grid failures in renewable energy? Priya Donti, 2023 AI2050 Fellow, develops machine learning algorithms that balance unpredictable solar/wind power with demand in real-time. Read the Q&A: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

How will AI reshape jobs—not just replace them? Daniel Rock, 2023 AI2050 Early Career Fellow at Wharton, studies how AI transforms individual tasks within jobs and is building a model to track those shifts. Read the Q&A: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

As renewable energy scales, the challenge is how to store and deploy it reliably. AI2050 Fellow Gege Wen is using AI trained on gas-storage experiments and CT scans of rock cores to advance subsurface energy storage. Learn more: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

East Antarctica is emerging as a surface melt hotspot. In Nature Climate Change, Schmidt Sciences’ Alexandra Boghosian spotlights new research revealing rising meltwater ponding driven by atmospheric shifts. Read the article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Addressing the lack of geographical and cultural diversity in AI is crucial for creating robust and equitable technology. Read our Q&A with 2023 AI2050 Early Career Fellow Danish Pruthi on "geocultural bias" in AI models and how he's working to solve it: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

We’re joining a global AI Alignment Project to direct up to $20M toward safe and secure AI. Grants of up to $1.3M per project will support researchers building tools to ensure AI aligns with human values. Learn More: buff.ly/Ojkazfn #AISafety #AIResearch

What will it take to build AI that can adapt, generalize, and truly learn from limited experience? AI2050 Early Career Fellow Chelsea Finn is pushing the boundaries of meta-learning to build adaptive, generalizable AI. Read her vision for the future of real-world intelligence: buff.ly/LjsuwNW

Our AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellows took part in a hands-on workshop focused on transforming their research into compelling stories. We love learning about the exciting work our grantees are doing—and growing together through science communication training. 📍 @utoronto.ca

How can we build AI systems the world can trust? AI2050 Early Career Fellow Nicolas Papernot explores how cryptographic audits and verifiability can make machine learning more transparent, accountable, and aligned with societal values. Read the full perspective: buff.ly/JjTnRjm

In aviation, safety is built in from the start. @stanford.edu's Mykel Kochenderfer brings that mindset to AI—stress-testing systems for trust & reliability. Learn how our AI Safety Science program is helping to make AI safer: www.schmidtsciences.org/safetyscience/ #AIAppreciationDay

As World Ocean Month comes to a close, Schmidt Sciences recognizes the Ocean's fundamental role as Earth's climate regulator and we're working toward tackling a critical question: Can the ocean continue absorbing carbon at current rates? #WorldOceanMonth 🧵

As World Ocean Month comes to a close, Schmidt Sciences recognizes the Ocean's fundamental role as Earth's climate regulator and we're working toward tackling a critical question: Can the ocean continue absorbing carbon at current rates? #WorldOceanMonth 🧵

Schmidt Sciences Program Scientist Thomas Wevers recently delivered a talk at the European Space Astronomy Center in Madrid about one of the universe's most dramatic events: what happens when a star meets a black hole.

With usable catch down 59% and 2 million livelihoods at stake, the Ocean Margins Initiative (OMI), a Schmidt Sciences OBVI grantee, is conducting the first comprehensive oceanographic study of Ghana's coastal waters in modern times. www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feat...

Happy #WorldOceanDay 🌊 Today we celebrate the ocean that sustains all life on Earth. From the smallest marine organisms to the vast currents that shape our climate, our ocean is a source of endless wonder and discovery.

Our AI Safety Science grantee Yoshua Bengio launched LawZero—a nonprofit creating "safe by design" AI through "Scientist AI." Building systems that accelerate scientific progress without independent action—AI benefits with human control intact. time.com/7290554/yosh...

Dairy waste is full of untapped value. WAVES, part of Schmidt Sciences' Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, is developing tech to turn food waste into clean water, energy, feed & more. Learn more about VIFF: www.schmidtsciences.org/viff/ youtube.com/shorts/lopdf...

Should we bring people back to life...digitally? AI advancements allow companies to create simulations of the dead using digital data. This “digital afterlife industry” promises a form of immortality, but at what cost? More in our AI2050 Perspectives: ai2050.schmidtsciences.org/community-pe...

We are excited to announce our 2025 Schmidt Science Fellows! 32 early career researchers, nominated by the world’s leading research universities, who will take an interdisciplinary approach to advancing discovery schmidtsciencefellows.org/news/2025-fe...

Submissions are being accepted until March 31 for the #scicomm awards given by @nationalacademies.org in partnership with @schmidtsciences.bsky.social which honor science communicators, journalists, and researchers. youtu.be/dNGaH-jqkAs Apply now: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel...