Milton and Rosalind Chang Pivoting Fellowship
Forecasted
Milton and Rosalind Chang Pivoting Fellowship supports early-career optical scientists and engineers making sustained career pivots that apply their expertise beyond traditional paths to benefit science and society.
Funder: Optica Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): May 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: USD 50,000 plus travel expenses to attend Frontiers in Optics (FiO)
Summary: Supports early-career optical scientists and engineers making full career pivots into non-traditional paths that benefit science and society.
Key Information: Applicants must be Optica members and 1–5 years beyond their highest degree, excluding career breaks.
Description
The Milton and Rosalind Chang Pivoting Fellowship, administered by the Optica Foundation, helps early-career optical scientists and engineers apply their expertise beyond traditional career paths. It supports transitions into fields such as public policy, government, philanthropy, and journalism, encouraging recipients to pursue their passions while advancing science and engineering for the benefit of optics, photonics, and society.
The fellowship supports a full, sustained career pivot—not a side project or a research project. Applicants must explain their intended transition, how they will use their scientific or engineering expertise, and how they will sustain the work. Previous fellows have pursued science communication through art, public education about biophotonic healthcare, practical optics teaching tools, evidence-based policy, and real-world environmental and healthcare applications of sensors.
