Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Graduate School News and Events

Inaugural Gruber Science Fellows Greet their Benefactor at Celebration in HGS

Forty-nine graduate students in the sciences were honored this year with a new fellowship provided by philanthropists Patricia and Peter Gruber, who recently established the Gruber Foundation at Yale University.

The Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of science, support of young scientists, global justice, and women's rights. The Gruber Science Fellowship Program, which will support students in the Graduate School who are pursuing doctorates in the basic sciences, is a major initiative of the Foundation. The fellowship program will provide $2.5 million annually to support top graduate students, with an emphasis on the life sciences. Assistant Dean Carl Hashimoto (PhD 1986, MB&B), professor and DGS of cell biology, coordinates the Gruber Science Fellowships.

Patricia Gruber stands at the center of the inaugural cohort of Gruber Science Fellows at Yale. (view additional photographs from the event)

"We share with Pat and Peter Gruber a deep commitment to educational excellence, social justice, and the recognition of scientific achievements that better the human condition," said Yale President Richard C. Levin in announcing the launch of the Gruber Foundation. "We are honored and grateful that the Grubers have entrusted Yale to advance this vital mission in years to come."

“This breath-taking gift is the largest in the history of the Graduate School,” said Dean Thomas Pollard, who spoke at the inaugural celebration of the Gruber Science Fellowship Program on October 18. He spoke of the long-term impact of the program, noting that 100 years from now, Gruber Science Fellows will continue to push the boundaries of human knowledge.

At the celebration, Patricia Gruber movingly related her husband's dramatic life story. Born into a Jewish family in Budapest, Peter fled Hungary with his parents in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. They landed in India, where he was educated by Irish Christian Brothers and Jesuits. After the war, he studied science, Buddhism, and philosophy in Australia before moving to New York City, where he eventually became a successful investment banker. He and his wife established their charitable foundation in 1993 and since then have given out major prizes for scientific discoveries and initiatives that advance global justice and women's rights.

“We are so pleased that the project we began 18 years ago, awarding prizes to outstanding achievers who have made the world a better place, will be continued in a new form at Yale,” said Ms. Gruber. “We are delighted to support these promising young scientists at the beginning of their careers. We place our hope in them, trusting that they, too, will make a difference in the world through their research.”

The new Fellows had a chance to meet one another and thank Patricia Gruber in person at a recent reception held in the Hall of Graduate Studies. Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Development (MCBGD) students Kathryn Krueger and Natalie Ma spoke on behalf of all the assembled students.

“I am extremely honored to be a Gruber Science Fellow in its inaugural year and hope that I can express my gratitude through continued dedication to my research. I look forward to working with my fellow Gruber Science Fellows to establish a precedent of excellence for the recipients of this award,” said Natalie as she presented gifts to Ms. Gruber.

Other students expressed their appreciation in notes to the Grubers. “I am very inspired by the history and philosophy of the Gruber family and their objectives in establishing the Gruber Foundation,” Sarah Elfenbein (Computational Biology and Bioinformatics) wrote.

“I have seven brothers and sisters, so needless to say, I have been on my own financially for quite a while,” wrote Katelynn Mannix (MCBGD). “Without support from generous donors like you, I would not be at Yale today. Your generosity will undoubtedly make a difference here at Yale through its support of young research scientists.”