Shaw Fellows

About the Fellowship

The Shaw Innovation Fellowship offers two programs to catalyze student innovation on campus by providing mentorship, curriculum, professional development opportunities, and stipend support. Shaw Fellows work with internal and external partners to create solutions that address social, environmental, and economic challenges facing our communities. In 2024, six Senior Shaw Fellows from across 51°µÍø’s academic programs each receive $5,000 to lead an innovative project in their area of interest. A second group of students form the Shaw Innovation Team, with each team member receiving $1,000 to collaborate on an interdisciplinary capstone project. As part of the program, students also have the opportunity to meet other local and regional innovators via specially designed workshops.

Photo of David Evans Shaw against rocks and the ocean

About David Evans Shaw

The Shaw Innovation Program, launched in 2021, is made possible through the generosity of David Evans Shaw. Through the program, Shaw, a prominent business and social entrepreneur and resident of Maine, seeks to supplement demand for education and research in the fields of entrepreneurship, science, technology, business, and leadership in order to help build a network of student innovators across several New England universities.

Learn More About David Evans Shaw

With extensive global leadership experience in science-based companies, investment management, and social impact NGOs, David Evans Shaw has helped build more than a dozen successful technology companies as a CEO or board member. These companies, employing more than 15,000 people worldwide, harness modern science to address important needs in health care and other markets. Early in his career, Shaw helped build a leading consulting firm in food and agriculture.

Shaw’s career has included extensive public service in science, arts, conservation and public policy. He has served on t