Two University of Minnesota faculty members receive prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/18/2014)—Two University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering faculty members have been awarded prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships. Jake Bailey, assistant professor of earth sciences, and Kai-Wen Lan, assistant professor of mathematics, are among this year’s winners announced today.
The highly competitive award honors U.S. and Canadian early-career scientists whose achievements identify them as rising stars of the next generation of scientific leaders. Each winner will receive a grant of $50,000 over a two-year period to further research in their area of expertise.
Jake Bailey, assistant professor of earth sciences
Recognized for his research in geobiology, Bailey investigates the interaction of microbes and minerals in oceanic and terrestrial environments, in part to understand the co-evolution of life and lithosphere (rocks and minerals) throughout geologic time. His research involves the use of molecular biology techniques and morphological analysis of modern and ancient microbes to understand the co-evolution of biological and geochemical systems, such may occur in the generation of phosphorous deposits.
Kai-Wen Lan, assistant professor of mathematics
Lan was recognized for his research on algebraic number theory and geometry, and combined applications (such as error-correcting codes) have been indispensible in modern daily life (involving, for example, telecommunication and data storage). His research focuses on a uniform construction of good compactifications over integers for a large class of Shimura varieties, which supplied the logical foundation for several exciting recent developments in algebraic number theory.
Awarded annually since 1955, Sloan Research Fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars who are conducting pioneering research in eight scientific and technical fields—chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, evolutionary and computational molecular biology, neuroscience, ocean sciences, and physics.
Candidates are nominated by their fellow scientists, and winning fellows are selected by an independent panel of senior scholars on the basis of a candidate’s independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become a leader in his or her field.
For a complete list of winners, visit the Sloan Fellowships website.