P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans

If you are an applicant and need to sign into the online application, you can find the link on the "Apply" page of our website: Apply Page.

If you are a fellow looking to login, please note that we are currently updating our backend system for managing Fellow data. In the meantime, to update your information for the Fellowship, please send updates to Nikka Landau at nlandau@pdsoros.org.

About

Paul Soros

Born in Hungary in 1926, Paul Soros studied mechanical engineering in Budapest. As an 18-year-old in Hungary in 1944, Paul assumed a false identity and survived the Holocaust era. When the Soviets invaded Budapest, he was arrested, became a Russian prisoner of war, and escaped while in transit to Russia.

In 1948, as a member of the Hungarian ski team at the Olympic games in Switzerland, he defected. He initially went to Austria and subsequently to the United States. His experiences under both Nazi and Communist regimes awakened in him a powerful and enduring commitment to the American constitution and Bill of Rights. He believed that active and informed citizenship is essential to the protection of our democracy. And he was convinced that immigrants and others who have recently achieved citizenship have a special responsibility to support and defend our constitutional system.

As an extremely promising young engineering student in New York City - he met his wife-to-be, Daisy, at International House - Paul struggled to afford graduate study. A Master's degree from Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, however, launched his distinguished career as a creative, innovative, and highly accomplished civil engineer. His innovative ideas, and his determination to see them implemented, transformed port design worldwide.

In 1956, he founded Soros Associates, an international engineering firm whose projects included port development, offshore terminal, and bulk handling facilities in 90 countries. Mr. Soros holds several patents in material handling and offshore technology and is the author of more than a hundred technical articles. He served on the Review Panel of the President's Office of Science and Technology and received the Gantt Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He was active in Paul Soros Investments, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a board member of several corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Paul served on the board of Trustees of NYU-Poly from 1977-2008. In 2012, he created the Soros Prize for Creative Engineering, which is distributed to three innovative mechanical or civil engineering students for an idea or invention.

Paul and Daisy's lives as immigrants informed and shaped their decision to fund and personally support a national graduate fellowship program that helps launch careers of New Americans. The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program supports individuals whose creativity and drive suggest that they have special promise of making distinctive contributions to American life. The program recognizes that such individuals can be found at more and less distinguished institutions throughout the country. And it emphasizes and encourages active citizenship among its Fellows. Paul was especially proud of the contributions that Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows had already made to American life.

Paul passed away on Saturday June 15, 2013 at the age of 87. Paul Soros's inspiring personal story, his commitment to American constitutional democracy, and his visionary philanthropy are fundamental to the Fellowship program. A New York Times obituary detailing his life story and many contributions is available online.

Born as Paul Schwartz in Budapest, Hungary

June 5, 1926
Parents changed the family surname to "Soros" to avoid persecution

1936
Taken as a Russian prisoner of war

1944
Arrived in United States

December 14, 1948
Received his Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

June, 1950
Paul & Daisy were married at New York City's City Hall

February 3, 1951
Qualified to become a US citizen

1954
Founded Soros Associates (at the age of 30)

1956
Began as a Trustee of NYU-Poly; he remained on the board until 2008

1977
Wrote "American (Con)quest"

1996
Paul & Daisy Soros founded The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

1997

P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans

Paul Soros

Paul Soros: NYU-Poly Innovator of Distinction

Paul Soros (1926-2013)