url to announcement   http://www.research.ibm.com/university/awards/phdfellowship.shtml
Students must be nominated by a doctoral faculty member and enrolled full-time in a college or university Ph.D. program. The faculty member is encouraged to contact an IBM colleague prior to submitting the nomination to assure mutual interest. IBM requests that no more than two nominations per department be submitted, in addition to any renewal nominations.

The academic disciplines and areas of study include: computer science and engineering, electrical and mechanical engineering, physical sciences (including chemistry, material sciences, and physics), mathematical sciences (including big data analytics, operations research, and optimization), public sector and business sciences (including urban policy and analytics, social technologies, learning systems and cognitive computing), and Service Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME), and industry solutions (healthcare, life sciences, education, energy & environment, retail and financial services).

Areas of focus for 2017-2018:  Quantum Computing; Cognitive Computing; Cloud and distributed computing technology and solutions; Fundamental science and technology.