TAMEST and Lyda Hill Philanthropies Announce the Hill Prizes
Texas scientists will receive $2.5 million in funding to advance their research thanks to a new prize program from Lyda Hill Philanthropies and TAMEST. The Hill Prizes, funded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, will accelerate high-risk, high-reward research ideas with significant potential for real-world impact.
The Prizes will celebrate top Texas innovators and researchers whose work could significantly impact science and society in five categories: Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology. A committee of TAMEST members (Texas-based members of the National Academies) will select the recipients. Finalists will be endorsed by a committee of Texas Nobel and Breakthrough Prize Laureates and approved by the TAMEST Board of Directors.
Each of the five prize recipients will receive $500,000 in funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies to accelerate their work. Prize recipients will be announced and recognized on February 5, 2024, at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2024 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.
The prizes will recognize exceptional innovators by providing seed funding to advance groundbreaking science and highlight Texas as a premier destination for world-class research. The prizes will help bridge the path from research to business development and further innovations that need additional funding for greater impact. The Hill Prizes will also put recipients in a stronger position to receive more research funding and seek large-scale grants and collaborations.
“Our organization is committed to funding game-changing advances in science and nature and that is exactly what the Hill Prizes’ mission is,” said Lyda Hill, Entrepreneur and Founder of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. “We hope that the funding awarded to these Texas scientists will help enable them to launch their pivotal research into development and continue to make advancements in scientific innovation.”
“By accelerating big ideas through direct research funding, we know the Hill Prizes will help transform the research landscape in Texas and create marketable outcomes from our state’s best scientists,” said TAMEST President Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine. “We look forward to advancing exceptional innovators and the most exciting research in the state thanks to the vision and support of Lyda Hill.”
To qualify as an applicant, researchers must be Texas-based and have started their first independent position at least 15 years ago. Applicants must have spent the last two years performing research in Texas at an institution within the state and stay active there for at least one year after receiving the prize funding. Institutional approval is required and applications may be submitted by both individuals and teams. More information on prize criteria and eligibility is available in the application guide.
Applications for the Hill Prizes opened on June 27 and will close on August 11, 2023.
View the Hill Prizes Application Guide and visit www.tamest.org/Hill-Prizes for more information on the prizes and nomination process.
About Lyda Hill Philanthropies:
Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving for founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. Her organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities. Because Miss Hill has a fervent belief that “science is the answer” to many of life’s most challenging issues, she has chosen to donate the entirety of her estate to philanthropy and scientific research.
