Meet Our 2024 Merchants of Light
Introducing OSV’s 25 grantees…
Deep within the mystical land of Bensalem lies a house.
Not just any old house. It’s an enormous structure, teeming with caves, towers, lakes, factories, brewhouses, pools, baths, and chambers.
Within it lives a throng of people: interpreters of nature and mystery men, novices and apprentices, compilers and inoculators.
Saloman’s House is its name, and for centuries it has nobly dedicated itself to pursuing knowledge and scientific discovery for the benefit of humanity.
Of all Saloman’s many projects, perhaps the most tantalizing is that of the ‘merchants of light,’ emissaries who travel the world in search of hidden knowledge and methods, intrepidly exploring some of the earth’s greatest mysteries…
No, this isn’t my first pitch at writing a fantasy novel.
It’s the premise of Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis (1627), a masterwork seen as one of the first scientific utopian novels.
It’s also the inspiration for the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships & Grants program.
By discovering the world’s boldest researchers, builders, and creators and unleashing them on the problems and passions that inflame their curiosity, we hope to rekindle the Saloman spirit in all its bold, ambitious, pioneering glory.
In January, we kicked off the second year of the program, and the response has been, well, the stuff of utopia. More than 5,000 applicants have applied from 140 countries across every continent of the globe (well, apart from Antarctica. Bear with us on that one).
You can get to know our current cohort of Fellows, each of whom will receive funding of $100,000 plus access to OSV’s network of experts, founders, and creators, by visiting our website. Trust me, it’s worth taking a look for the variety alone; there, you will see a positively Bensalem-esque range of projects, from next-generation magnets to data storage in plants.
There’s more. Last year, we also launched a Grants program designed to support an additional five explorers with grants of $10k each.
The success of our 2023 grantees over the last few months has been positively Salomanian. For example:
Akhil Tolani launched the music creation copilot Cassette AI in August 2023, which has since onboarded more than 50,000 active users
Max Reisner designed and built the first version of his new-age battery management system. After graduating from Stanford earlier this year, he’s now expanding his work to commercialize his project.
Justh recorded and launched his Hindi single, “Chor.” Defined by its mysterious but memorable lyrics, the multi-layered song topped the Viral 50 global chart on Spotify and rocketed organically to more than 20 million views on YouTube.
This year, we expanded the Grants program even further, awarding 25 grants of $10k to adventurers and tinkerers from all walks of life.
It’s time for you to meet our 2024 merchants of light.
Applications for the 2024 Fellowships are now closed and will reopen on January 1, 2025.
You can learn more via our website.
2024 OSV Grantees
Aaryan Harshith, a Stanford undergrad from Canada, is developing single-dose, universal vaccines for Hepatitis E.
Alex Wieckowski (known as Alex & Books) shares book reviews and reading tips to over 1M followers and is building a course on better reading.
Arjun Khemani, a writer, podcaster, and high school dropout from India, is working on a documentary about the deepest theory of knowledge.
Ayman Nasur, displaced by the war in Sudan, will continue designing and manufacturing a microjet engine.
Dan Line-Bell, who is based in the US, is developing a plasma nanoengineering reactor and a neural-interfaced biomimetic eye.
Eugene Duvenage, who is based in South Africa, is developing N.E.R.D. (Native Evolutionary Response Diagnostics), which uses ants' behavior to detect cancer through computer vision.
Isaak Freeman, escaping his snowy home valley in Austria, taught himself biology and math and is now a researcher at MIT interested in brain simulations and giving mice infrared vision.
Israel Balogun, based in Nigeria, was once homeless. Now, he provides alternative learning spaces for homeless youngsters to explore and develop their talents.
John Hopcroft, based in the US, is working on turning debating and discourse into a video game with his new platform, Cosmos.
Johnathan Bi, based in the US, is creating long-form content on the great books.
Julian Gough, born in England and raised in Ireland, is an author based in Berlin. He is currently writing a non-fiction book online at theeggandtherock.com, where he explores cosmological natural selection—the idea that universes reproduce and that our universe has been fine-tuned by a Darwinian evolutionary process.
Manu Tyagi, based in India, is bridging the gap between traditional tailoring craftsmanship and modern convenience with Dui Pakhi, a platform connecting customers with expert tailors and offering convenient doorstep services.
Maria Violaris, a PhD researcher in England, is creating content about the biggest fundamental questions of physics and technology, with a focus on quantum and thermodynamics.
Max Aalto, a physicist and engineer from the USA, is developing OpenQuantum, a complete, open-source hardware and software blueprint for trapping and controlling atoms.
Mert Akin, based in the USA, is developing the world’s most sustainable and efficient lithium extraction and conversion process, which reduces operational expenses by up to 80%.
Michael Garfield, a US-based critical futurist and artist-philosopher, is working on fostering public discourse on wisdom in the age of technological superpowers, agency in the era of automation, and humanity in the Technocene.
Michael Skuhersky, a PhD researcher from MIT, is recording and simulating the complete neural circuitry of organisms, primarily C. elegans, with the goal of simulating the human brain.
Miroslav Stodic, based in Serbia, is building a new paradigm for time-series analysis through synthetic quantum field theory.
Miyoba Hamuhuma, based in Zambia, is a disability rights advocate and founder of Enlight Abilities Organisation, which empowers mothers of children with disabilities and promotes the rights of children with disabilities by advocating for inclusive education, access to livelihoods, access to quality health services, and mental health.
Olivia “Olli” Payne, based in the US, is working on Possibilia, a literary magazine publishing optimistic, realistic sci-fi.
Paulina Paiz, in Guatemala, is optimizing the analysis of retinal recordings to decode visual processing.
Rajendra Paudel, based in Nepal, is a YouTuber with over 400k subscribers. He is developing a mobile app and online resources to educate and support migrant workers in Gulf countries with financial and digital literacy.
Ramji Lal, based in India, has been a full-time social worker since 1998 and is focusing on environmental cleanliness and spreading beauty in the world by planting flowers using organic methods all across the country.
Sabrina Zhang, a Wharton student and entrepreneur, is working on Foreage, which monitors crop health using hyperspectral imaging to address climate change impacts.
Sofia Sanchez, based in Mexico, has practiced plant bioengineering at Stanford and Imperial College London and is now continuing her research into creating a plant computer.
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