The Sheffield Fellowship advances technological innovation in the public interest by supporting exceptional Yale student founders with the talent, ambition and determination to develop solutions to significant real-world challenges.
The Fellowship recognizes that the defining opportunities of the twenty-first century will be realized through scientific discovery, engineering excellence and entrepreneurial leadership. It seeks students who combine exceptional technical ability with the capacity to translate ideas into technologies that strengthen the physical economy through innovation in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, robotics, computing and related fields.
Each year, a small cohort of Sheffield Fellows is selected through a highly competitive process. Fellows receive financial support, mentorship, and access to a network of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and industry leaders committed to advancing innovation with lasting societal impact.
Named for Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School, the Fellowship honors a tradition of technical education and practical achievement. It invests in the next generation of innovators whose work will help build a stronger, more resilient, and more prosperous future. The Fellowship is administered by ClimateHaven, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs building breakthrough technologies for the physical economy. ClimateHaven, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Eric Arabadzhiev and Steven Zhou are the first Sheffield Fellows. Their work spans autonomy, semiconductors, and the networks around them.
Steven co-founded Willow (Y Combinator, Summer 2024) and was its CTO. At Saronic, he built the mission-planning layer for autonomous vessels. He has built AI projects for Elad Gil, researched LLMs and formal verification at Yale Law School, and is now an engineer at Phinity Labs, a chip-design startup.
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Eric leads YSEED, a selective community for Yale’s strongest technical builders. He has worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on sanctions and sensitive AI proliferation policy, and spent this past summer on ICONIQ’s venture investment team. He scouts for several leading venture firms.
LinkedInThe Roy S. Lee Memorial Fund was established to honor his lifelong commitment to education and public service. Drawing on the Lee family's longstanding relationship with Yale University and its entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Fund established the Sheffield Fellowship to support exceptional Yale students developing technologies to advance the public interest.
Roy S. Lee devoted his life to advancing international cooperation through law, diplomacy, and public service. During more than three decades at the United Nations, his work spanned human rights, international environmental law and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Throughout his career and for nearly two decades following his retirement, he taught and mentored generations of students at Yale School of the Environment, Columbia Law School, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and Pace University School of Law, connecting them to real world practitioners, conferences and externship opportunities, and inspiring them to pursue careers in the public interest.
The fund is administered by ClimateHaven, Inc. a 501(c)(3) public charity, and is held in a separately designated fund and used exclusively to support the Sheffield Fellowship. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.