As part of the fiftieth-year celebration of Gordon Moore’s Law, predicting the doubling of components on an integrated circuit every 18 months, the board of trustees approved the Moore Inventor Fellows in 2016. With the creation of the fellowship, we hope to nurture the next generation of scientists and inventors, thereby enabling breakthroughs that accelerate progress into the next five decades.
Our primary goal is to accelerate inventions, grounded in science, that catalyze new opportunities across the foundation’s program areas of scientific research, environmental conservation and patient care. Our secondary goal is to stimulate the ecosystem that supports invention and inventors. Each fellow receives a total of $825,000 over three years to drive their invention forward, this includes $50,000 per year from their home institution as a commitment to these outstanding individuals.
When the fellowship was created, staff committed to undergo an internal review after three years to assess the project’s success and inform possible improvements for the future. An internal evaluation of the first phase was conducted between February and June 2018. While it was still too early to determine whether any long-term impacts have been achieved, the review focused on assessing progress-to-date.
Lessons from the internal review
- Evolution and adaptation. Each year, the applications undergo a rigorous review process, involving a combination of foundation staff and external reviewers during the initial rounds, and, in the final stage, a group of expert advisors representing the fields of science, environmental conservation, and health care. Feedback from the selection advisors indicates that the quality of the finalists and their presentations has improved year-over-year.
- Nomination/selection process. While the first year saw the highest proportion of institutions participating, there has been a drop-off in subsequent years, even though the number of eligible institutions has increased. Staff made changes based on input from institutions, fellows and foundation leadership. Efforts were made during the first couple of years to expand the pool of eligible institutions, which increased the number of health- and environmental conservation-related applications received, as well as the quality of these applications.
- Success of selected fellows. One of the key goals of the fellowship is to partner with host institutions to support these fellows, allowing awardees to focus on their inventions. All fellows reported having positive experiences, with increased visibility and prestige since receiving the award, and overall felt that their careers are being positively impacted by the fellowship. While most fellows said that they would likely still be working on their invention without the award, they were certain that it greatly accelerated their rate of progress.
- Success of finalists who were not selected as fellows. Each year ten finalists present to the panel, during the final stage, but only five are selected. The five that are not selected receive a small award and participate in the evaluation process. Nearly all the finalists who did not receive a fellowship were nonetheless pleased to have made it to the final round and were proud to be recognized as finalists. Several are still working on their proposed invention but said they are making slower progress than if they had received the award.
- Support for inventors. Both fellows and finalists commented that the Moore Inventor Fellows award is unique, because it combines inventorship with an early-career focus. Based on feedback from the foundation’s Science Advisory Board, the foundation decided to allow current fellows to nominate one individual to help strengthen the diversity of ideas considered by the review committee. This addition will help test two premises: 1) That the best innovators are recognized by their institutions; and 2) That creative people know other creative people.
- Institutional nomination process. One of the original requirements in 2016 was that Moore Inventor Fellows would spend at least 50 percent of their time during the calendar year working on their proposed invention. Based on survey responses and comments from eligible institutions, the foundation learned that this was a barrier to candidate eligibility, as many candidates already had grant funding with incompatible conditions or had teaching responsibilities. In response to this feedback, the team reduced the 50 percent time commitment to 25 percent.
With only a few active cohorts of fellows, it is not yet feasible to assess the full impact that the fellowship will have in the future. More time is needed to determine its long-term impact, as well to learn more about the project and make improvements. However, these early results indicate that the fellowship is having a positive impact on both the fellows and the finalists. As the cohorts continue, we will continue to monitor progress and examine our assumptions.
In the meantime, the foundation plans to allocate a total of nearly $34 million through 2026 to support the 50 Moore Inventor Fellows – five fellows per year for ten years. 2019 marked our fourth year of fellows and the first completed cohort (the class of 2016).
Find out more about the Fellowship
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