Liam Connor named 2026 Packard Fellow
Liam Connor, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, has been named a 2026 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation. He will receive $985,834 in unrestricted funds over five years to pursue his research.
Connor is a cosmologist working on fast radio bursts (FRBs), mysterious pulses of radio waves that come from galaxies billions of light years beyond the Milky Way. In addition to the enigma of their physical origin, FRBs can be used as a cosmic beacon, probing matter that is otherwise invisible. To understand these sources and apply them to cosmology, Connor's lab builds radio telescope arrays comprised of many small antennas, acting as a single phased array.
This year's Packard Fellows class features 20 early-career scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Each year, the Foundation invites 50 universities to nominate two faculty members for consideration. The Packard Fellowships Advisory Panel, a group of 12 internationally recognized scientists and engineers, evaluates the nominations and recommends Fellows for approval by the Packard Foundation Board of Trustees.
“These scientists, engineers, and mathematicians are asking ambitious questions about our bodies, our planet, and the technologies shaping our future,” said Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation. “At a time of significant uncertainty in the research landscape, flexible, long-term support for early-career researchers matters more than ever.”
Since 1988, the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering have supported transformative work by providing unrestricted funds, giving Fellows the freedom to follow the science wherever it leads. Fellows decide what their research needs, whether that is new equipment, another researcher on the team, travel to a conference, or child care during the demanding early years of running a lab. That flexibility lets Fellows test novel ideas, follow unexpected findings, and lead research that drives real-world impact.
The Foundation expanded its support for Fellows this year, announcing an additional increase in Fellowship awards beginning with the 2027 class, providing Fellows with greater support to pursue their research. Earlier in 2026, the Foundation also created the Packard Fellows Emergency Relief Fund, a $3.3 million rapid-response effort administered by the Science Philanthropy Alliance that helped 42 Fellows sustain their research teams through disruptions in federal funding.