Eric Moskowitz Harvard Staff Writer Harvard Staff Writer Pictured above, left to right: Kiyoul Yang, Assistant Professor, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS); Giulia Semeghini, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics, SEAS; Xing Fan, Assistant Professor of Physics; Victoria D’Souza, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Doeke Hekstra, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Associate Professor of Applied Physics, SEAS; donor James A. Star ’83; donor Josh Friedman ’76, M.B.A. ’80, J.D. ’82; Mahmoud Mikdar (research associate representing Professor Manoj Duraisingh, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health); Ahmad “Mo” Khalil, Hok Lam and Kathleen Kam Wong Professor of Bioengineering, SEAS, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Maxim Prigozhin, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and of Applied Physics, SEAS; Kathy Liu (front; graduate student representing Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science, SEAS, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology); Donhee Ham John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, SEAS (rear); Chenghua Gu, Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; Quan Lu, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; selection committee chair Michael Desai. The 2026 Star-Friedman Challenge grants will support seven “high risk, high reward” projects pursued by Harvard researchers, including engineering red blood cells to patrol the body as disease detectors, designing microchip-sized lasers for molecular experiments and quantum computing, and developing tactile-sensing “skins” to help robots achieve more human-like touch in assisting with senior care, surgery, or disaster recovery. “I’m really struck by the ambition and range of the work,” said Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at a University Hall celebration for the winners and their projects. “It really reflects