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Sydney Hunt (she/her) is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford University. She graduated with distinction from Duke University as a Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholar, earning bachelor's degrees in electrical/computer engineering and computer science with a concentration in artificial intelligence and machine learning, plus a minor in gender, sexuality, and feminist studies.
As an aspiring professor, Sydney is deeply committed to equal access to education. At Duke, she was a founding member of the nonprofit CS Sidekicks, S.P.I.R.E. Fellows Living Learning Community, and Duke Technology Scholars Academic Support Team. She conducted Bass Connections research on the gender gap in STEM and co-hosted the "This Engineering Life" podcast series with Dr. Rebecca Simmons. Beyond academics, Sydney founded the annual "Don't Waste Food Points" food drive in 2021, which has donated over 5,800 meals to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
At Stanford, she serves on the Knight-Hennessy Scholar Experience Committee, is a Scholar Ambassador, and is the lead co-host and producer of the "Imagine a World" podcast series. Sydney is also a recipient of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute’s Center for Mind, Brain, Computation and Technology Fellowship, awarded to Stanford graduate trainees who are pushing the boundaries of neuroscience through diverse scientific approaches. Her research focuses on brain-computer interfaces, aiming to restore independence and communication for people with paralysis.
Hunt is certified in Mental Health First Aid and enjoys playing soccer, trying new food, and dad jokes. She grew up in Cornwall, New York, as the daughter of a Black military kid and a high school teacher who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador.
Sydney was nominated by the Undergraduate Young Trustee Nominating Committee in 2023 and serves as a member of the Undergraduate Education Committee. She is serving a three-year term on the board, one year as an observer and two years as a voting member.
July 2025