Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award
announces the 2025 class of Packard Fellows.
Nicole Xu, assistant professor in thePaul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering.
Established in 1988, the award provides some of the nation’s most promising early career scientists and engineers flexible funding to test novel ideas and lead research that drives real-world impact., who will each receive $875,000 over five years to explore new frontiers in their fields of study.
“I’m excited to join this incredible cohort of Packard Fellows,” said Xu, who is also affiliated with theRobotics Program,Biomedical Engineering Program ԻBioFrontiers Institute at CU Boulder. "It’s a great opportunity to collaborate with people and learn from these brilliant scientists and engineers.”
Xu leads an at the intersection of robotics, fluid dynamics and biology. She says the funding will help her team tackle issues related to climate, energy efficiency and even environmental stewardship.
“To address climate change, we need new, energy-efficient tools for ocean monitoring and exploration,” Xu said. “The Xu Lab leverages jellyfish as a model organism to design next-generation underwater vehicles using three approaches: engineered soft robots, cyborg systems enhancing live animals, and tissue-engineered constructs. Together, these methods offer complementary insights into propulsion.”
A history of Packard Fellows at CU Boulder
- Xu is the 20th researcher from CU Boulder to receive a Packard Fellowship.
- She is the fifth researcher to represent CU Engineering as a Packard Fellow.
The Packard Fellowships were inspired by electrical engineer and former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard and his commitment to strengthening university-based science and engineering programs across the country. Since the fellowship’s inception, the Packard Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support 735 scientists and engineers from 55 universities.
Over the years, Packard Fellows have made discoveries to help protect species, develop new vaccines and launch technologies that improve our daily lives. Many have gone on to receive some of the field’s highest honors, including Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics and elections to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
“It’s important to invest in science now more than ever so that we can study fundamental research and applications in areas like AI and climate change,” said Xu. “The Packard Fellowship will provide my lab with crucial funding that will allow us to conduct high-risk, high-reward research.”