The Philomathia Foundation is delighted to announce that Karthik Shekhar, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, the John F. Heil Jr. Professor, and a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Philomathia Prize.

Established in 2021 through an endowment gift from the Philomathia Foundation, the annual prize honours an early-career UC Berkeley faculty member from any discipline who demonstrates great distinction and promise in their field. The recognition includes a $200,000 award, which Dr. Shekhar can use at his discretion over a three-year period to support his research.

Dr. Shekhar’s research integrates genomics, computation, and theory to uncover fundamental principles of neural organization, development, and evolution. The Philomathia Prize will support his collaborative research into the bioelectric basis of neural activity—aiming to build a microscopic theoretical framework that explains how biological electricity operates in the body and how ion transport and membrane dynamics give rise to complex macroscopic neural responses. In addition to his groundbreaking biophysical research, Dr. Shekhar is a distinguished educator, having received the 2023 Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

The award will be formally presented on November 5, 2026, during the Philomathia Day symposium, titled “Bioelectricity at the Interface: Molecules, Membranes, and Models.” The one-day event will bring together researchers using experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to discuss bioelectricity and membrane biology across scales.

To learn more about Karthik Shekhar’s research and the 2026 Philomathia Prize, please read the full announcement on the UC Berkeley Inspire website.