Two SEAS Grad Students Named Inaugural Quad Fellows

Doctoral students Maya Foster and Masashi Kaneda have been selected for the inaugural class of the Quad Fellowship, a new, joint initiative of the governments of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, and is administered by Schmidt Futures.

The Quad Fellowship aims to build the next generation of STEM leaders by recognizing exceptional individuals who intend to pursue STEM graduate study in the United States. Twenty-five fellows from each of the four countries were selected and will receive a $50,000 award for academic expenses.

The Quad Fellowship is the first multinational scholarship and educational program specifically supporting students in STEM with a goal of developing a network of science and technology experts committed to advancing innovation and collaboration in the private, public, and academic sectors, in their own nations and among Quad countries. The program builds foundational understanding among Quad Fellows of one another's societies and cultures through cohort-wide trips and robust programming with each country's top scientists, technologists, and politicians.

Maya Foster (United States)

Maya Foster is a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering developing computational methods to understand severe mental illness. She works tirelessly to develop innovative computational methods that unearth actionable insights from brain imaging data that are predictive about the developmental course of psychotic symptoms. Socially, Foster enjoys spending time with friends, traveling the world, organizing initiatives that bring together diverse groups of people, and advocating for positive change.

Masashi Kaneda (Japan)

As a third-year Ph.D. student in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Masashi Kaneda is developing innovative technologies to address the global water security problem. After graduating from Hokkaido University with B.S. and M.S. degrees, Kaneda came to Yale to pursue cutting-edge research through international collaboration. His motivation to study water treatment technology stems from his previous volunteer project in Indonesia, where he observed poorly maintained local water systems and sanitation. Outside his laboratory, Kaneda serves as President of the Yale Japanese Association, organizing gatherings to fortify cultural connections among students and their peers in New Haven.