Past IAS Scholars Win 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships
Past scholars in the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences are among the recipients of the 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships, a landmark honor for early-career scholars.
Winners in Mathematics include past Members Theodore Dimitrios Drivas (2022), who works on fluid dynamics, turbulence, and dynamical systems; Simon Shaolei Du (2019–20), whose research focuses on machine learning; Chi Jin (2019), who studies optimization and statistics; Samuel Punshon-Smith (2021–22), who works on partial differential equations; Daniel Litt (2018–19), an algebraic geometrist and number theorist; and Jiaoyang Huang (2019–20), whose research spans probability, mathematical physics, and optimization.
Also in Mathematics, recent Veblen Research Instructor Sarah Peluse (2020–23), a number theorist working on higher-order Fourier analysis and additive number theory, received a fellowship. Additionally, past Member Jinyoung Park (2020–21) was included in the list. Noted for her recent proof (along with Huy Tuan Pham) of a central problem in probabilistic combinatorics, the Kahn-Kalai Conjecture, Park was featured in the Institute’s Paths to Math series, where she discussed going on to her Ph.D. after seven years as a secondary school teacher in South Korea.
In Natural Sciences, past Junior Visiting Professor Geoff Penington (2021–22), who works on quantum information theory and quantum gravity, won a fellowship, along with astrophysicist and past Member Susan E. Clark (2017–21). To learn more about their research, read Clark’s essay in the Institute Letter “Interstellar Magnetism” or watch Penington—with Carl P. Feinberg Professor Juan Maldacena, past Distinguished Visiting Professor Subir Sachdev (2021–22), and past Member Ahmed Almheiri (2017–22)—discuss “Spacetime, Quantum Entanglement and Black Holes.”
The two-year fellowship is awarded to researchers “in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field,” granting them a $75,000 reward to advance their research.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation provides grants across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics, with the belief that scholars in these fields play a foundational role in our health and prosperity.
