Our 2025 Interdisciplinary Science Summit was our largest and most engaged event ever, growing and galvanizing a community of interdisciplinary researchers and supporters ready to change how science is done.
Staged in association with Caltech, the expansive guest list included our Senior Fellows, researchers and leaders from Schmidt Sciences and other Schmidt Science Philanthropies, Rhodes Trust representatives and Scholars, Caltech leaders, including President Thomas Rosenbaum, and researchers and innovators from around the world.
We were delighted to welcome our Co-Founder and Sponsor, Wendy Schmidt, to share the Summit’s Showcase Evening with us.
Our Executive Director, Megan Kenna, said the 2025 Summit represented a step change for the annual event: “What began as a small gathering has become a core part of our strategy for change.
“The Summit is now the place where interdisciplinary scientists and their allies can come together, not just to share ideas, but to build something bigger.
“And 2025 marks a turning point. For the first time, this isn’t just a convening of Fellows. It’s a broader community united not by program or affiliation, but by shared purpose and values.”
The Showcase Day highlighted some of the most imaginative, bold, and high-impact interdisciplinary science happening today.
It culminated with four inspiring talks that captured the spirit of curiosity, creativity, and purpose driving our work. Thank you:
- Deepak Krishnamurthy (2020 Schmidt Science Fellow, UC Berkeley)
- Jacqueline Campbell (2020 Schmidt Science Fellow, Asterisk Labs)
- Sara Walker (Schmidt Science Polymath, Arizona State University)
- Mikhail Shapiro (Caltech Professor and Principal Investigator of the host lab of two Schmidt Science Fellows)
The three-day Summit began with tours of NASA-JPL, the inspiring world leader in robotic space exploration.
The following day, we welcomed former NASA-JPL director Laurie Leshin as the keynote speaker to open our Showcase Day, where she set an ambitious tone for the day.
“When we set our sights on doing the impossible, that is when we are at our best,” she told attendees.
The Showcase Day, at the Pasadena Convention Center, featured bespoke sessions for scientists to share the impact of their interdisciplinary journeys.
In a dedicated “Idea to Application” lab, researchers pitched their innovations to a panel of experts and funders, helping sharpen their pathways to impact.
We were also excited to welcome the University of Washington Scientific Software Engineering Center, a group supported by the Schmidt Sciences Virtual Institute for Scientific Software, for a well-attended participatory design workshop focused on how AI tools can be incorporated into research.
On the final day, our Senior Fellows were welcomed to the Caltech campus to network with research leaders, explore Caltech’s hallmark interdisciplinary culture, and tour some impressive labs.
We are truly grateful to our hosts, Caltech, a powerhouse of interdisciplinary science, without whom the Summit could not have happened.
Our 2021 Fellow, former Caltech PhD, and member of the Summit Fellow Steering Committee, Shashank Ghandi, said: “There is no better place than Caltech to represent the interdisciplinary spirit of Schmidt Science Fellows. This place has shaped so much of my journey, and it’s truly special to share this moment.”
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who invested time and energy to build this momentum.
Our next Interdisciplinary Science Summit will be in North Carolina, in association with Duke University, with the Showcase Day on 30 June 2026.
We can’t wait to see you. Watch this space!
Photos: Claudine Gossett
