Harvard's third winner, Cox, has concentrated in computer science and plans to continue working in the same field in graduate school, though he hasn't decided where he will enroll.

When asked about the most difficult portion of the Hertz application process, Russ said, "the interviews are notoriously grueling, covering a wide range of physical knowledge. No one I've talked to has ever walked out of a Hertz interview thinking they did well. I am no exception."

Nivon also said he found his interview to be extremely broad in the amount of information he was asked to speak about. He compared it to "an open-ended exam which can test all the science you've ever studied, [a test] which you have to take with someone looking over your shoulder and making comments."

The graduate fellowship that Cohen, Nivon and Cox won is provided by the Hertz Foundation, a private foundation that provides fellowships for graduate work in the applied physical science leading to a Ph.D.