LIVERMORE, Calif. – November 20, 2007 – For San Francisco native and promising young scientist Dario Amodei, his calling is clear.  “The one thing I am sure of is that I want to make the world a better place,” says the 24-year old, which as an aspiring biophysicist could mean working to help prevent malicious uses of modern biology while hastening the arrival of positive, humanitarian applications in the form of new medical treatments.

“I'm especially interested in applications to the developing world, where there is the potential to alleviate huge amounts of suffering with relatively modest efforts,” he adds.  Amodei recently won a full five-year graduate fellowship from the prestigious Fannie and John Hertz Foundation to continue his PhD studies in biophysics at Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.

 Amodei is one of 15 graduate students selected from more than 580 across the country to receive the Hertz graduate fellowship.  Hertz Fellows each receive up to $240,000 over five years to pursue their own scientific interests at top universities in the United States.  This no-strings-attached support gives Hertz Fellows financial independence and freedom to conduct innovative research because, unlike many other grants, university and study choices are not limited by strict funding requirements.

“Hertz Fellows represent the very best young scientific talent in our nation,” says John Holzrichter, PhD, Hertz Foundation president.  “These students embody the drive and curiosity to solve the most difficult problems our world faces, and we are pleased to support them as they grow in their chosen disciplines.”

As a child, Amodei loved solving elegant yet simple puzzles, a game that fueled his interest in math and eventually physics.  It is only befitting that the pieces are now coming together for Amodei, who is honored to be named a Hertz Fellow.  “The Hertz Fellowship, and especially its moral commitment, has given me the chance to express publicly a set of goals that I have held privately for a long time,” Amodei says.  “We are entering an era when emerging technologies in the biological sciences may drastically affect billions of lives for better or worse.  I believe that anyone who has the ability to influence these technologies for the better should do so, and I am proud to be supported by an organization that encourages young scientists to adopt this attitude.”

As biology becomes more quantitative and precise in the decades ahead, Amodei believes biophysics -- a field that involves bringing the tools and methods of physics to bear on problems in modern biology -- will have an increasingly important role to play.  His most recent research involves understanding the “population code” of networks of neurons?the language in which the neurons speak to one another and work together to encode information about the world.  Statistical models resulting from Amodei’s research on the retina are showing promise and applicability to other regions of the brain and to gene regulation.

Amodei started his academic studies at the California Institute of Technology in 2001 and finished college at Stanford University in 2006.  While as an undergraduate, he proposed a unique cost-saving design for the 30-Meter Telescope, the largest optical telescope in the world, and he published a paper on the subject in a prestigious scientific journal.  After his sophomore year, he took time off for hands-on learning at an oilfield services company in Cambridge, England.  There, he worked on improving the modeling of seismic waves in the earth, which could help improve the understanding of earthquakes. 

Amodei is both a scientist and an athlete.  He enjoys swimming, and while in high school he was active in cross country.  One of his proudest achievements was being part of a team that broke a long-standing record in the 4x1600 meter relay.

Amodei graduated from San Francisco’s Lowell High School in 2001, where he received the coveted Henry Karpenstein award.  He was also a member of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program and earned a place on the U.S. Physics Team.  Amodei has a bachelor of science in physics from Stanford University, where he graduated in 2006.  In addition to the Hertz Fellowship, he received the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship and the Centennial Fellowship.  He also received the George W. Green award for outstanding research contribution by an undergraduate.  Amodei’s mother, Elena Engel, works for the Friends of San Francisco Public Library, and his sister Daniela is a student at University of California, Santa Cruz.  Amodei’s father, who is recently deceased, was a craftsman and artist.

About the Hertz Foundation

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, based in Livermore, Calif., is a tax exempt, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the selection and support of outstanding individuals in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences.  Founded in 1963, the Foundation’s mission is to build America’s capacity for innovation by nurturing remarkable applied scientists and engineers who show the most promise to change the world.  It awards fellowships to an average of 15 PhD candidates every year to pursue graduate studies at the nation's finest academic institutions.  As a result, the Hertz Foundation supports the research efforts of about 75 Fellows at any given time.  The Hertz Fellowships are widely considered to be among the most competitive and most prestigious offered anywhere.  For more information about the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, as well as giving opportunities, go to www.hertzfoundation.org.