The New York Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest scientific organizations in the United States, founded in 1817. A nonprofit professional society with more than 20,000 members across 100 countries, it convenes scientists, students, policymakers and the public to advance research, education and expertise. Its work spans flagship recognition programs like the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists and the Tata Transformation Prize, global STEM education through the Junior Academy and Global STEM Alliance, crisis-response coordination via the International Science Reserve, and the long-running peer-reviewed journal Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Zeon Systems builds AI-powered robotic infrastructure that automates scientific laboratory experiments. Founded in 2025 by Brontë Kolar and Tahir D'Mello - both Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees who previously worked together at Latch Bio - the company uses off-the-shelf robotic arms paired with depth cameras and a natural language interface to let scientists describe experiments in plain English and have robots execute them autonomously. Already piloting at Stanford and UCSF, Zeon targets the multi-billion-dollar lab automation market by lowering the cost and complexity of scientific research - betting that cheaper automation means more experiments, and more experiments mean faster cures.