Ten scientists are launching bold, new research projects as recipients of 2026 Cottrell Singular Exceptional Endeavors of Discovery (SEED) Awards from Research Corporation for Science Advancement. The award supports Cottrell Scholars and Holland Award recipients as they pursue high-risk, high-reward ideas at the earliest, most exploratory stage of discovery.
This year’s cohort reflects the creativity and range that define the Cottrell Scholar community, with projects ranging from switchable molecular frameworks to light-driven chemistry, quantum photonics, biophysics, and biosensor design. Research Corporation provides $60,000 in support for each of the nine projects for total funding of $540,000.
“Congratulations to each of this year’s Cottrell SEED Award recipients,” said Eric Isaacs, president and CEO of Research Corporation. “Their work is a reminder that the most transformative science often starts as an untested idea. We are proud to give talented scientists the freedom to explore it.”
Awardees were selected through two tracks:
- New Research Directions – open to scientists at research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions pursuing transformative new lines of inquiry and,
- Exceptional Opportunities – advances promising research already underway at primarily undergraduate institutions toward greater innovation and impact.
This year’s Cottrell SEED Award recipients are:
New Research Directions
- Natalia Shustova, University of South Carolina: “SPARC: Switchable Platforms for Adaptive and Reversible Metal Coordination”
- Sarah Keller, University of Washington: “First Ever Isolation of Phase-Separated Domains in a Yeast Membrane”
- Jay Foley, University of North Carolina Charlotte: “Photonic Functionalization of Molecules for Quantum Information: A Hammett Framework for Strong Light-Matter Coupling.”
- Jahan Dawlaty, University of Southern California: “A New Class of Photo-Superacids for Light-Gated C-C Bond Formation”
- Sean Roberts, University of Texas at Austin: “Using Strong Light-Matter Coupling to Drive Superradiant Emission”
- Paramjit Arora, New York University: “Sequence-Specific Small Molecule Ligands for Duplex RNA Recognition”
Exceptional Opportunities
- Jane Liu, Pomona College: “Building Better Biosensors: Mechanistic Analysis of an Evolved Riboswitch”
- Lou Charkoudian and Casey Londergan, Haverford College: “Monitoring the Changing Reactivity of Thioesters in Biosynthesis via Infrared Difference Absorption Spectroscopy”
- Dennis Cao, Macalester College: “Synthesis and Characterization of Helicene Di- and Tetraimides”
“We received more SEED applications this year than ever before, and the depth of quality across the pool made the selection process both exciting and difficult,” said Cottrell Scholars Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “These projects stood out for their creativity and ambition. They represent just a fraction of the outstanding scientific ideas that the Cottrell Scholar community is known for.”
The funding gives researchers the flexibility to generate the early results and momentum needed to compete for larger, longer-term funding down the road. This is the 11th year Research Corporation has supported high-risk, high-reward research through the Cottrell Scholars SEED Awards.