Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes a Berkeley prize recognizing research on ancient galaxies, a 2026 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for a doctoral student, and an NSF CAREER Award supporting research on the brain circuits that drive social behavior.

Ģ����Ƶ astronomer is part of team that receives Berkeley prize for study of ancient galaxies

, Ģ����Ƶ postdoctoral scholar in astronomy, is part of a team of astronomers who received the 2027 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy.��

Khullar is one of 60 astronomers who make up the UNCOVER team, an international collaboration built to study tens of thousands of galaxies, black holes and star clusters. The Berkeley Prize recognized the UNCOVER team for its work using the to study galaxies behind “Pandora’s Cluster,” a massive galaxy cluster. The large mass of this cluster causes it to act as a powerful magnifying glass, bending the light from faraway background galaxies.��

Deep imaging and spectroscopy of this gravitational lens have enabled the UNCOVER project team to identify and characterize distant galaxies from some of the earliest stages of our universe.��

“This team award is a genuine recognition of the incredible work that this new collaboration has conducted, spearheaded by early career astronomers,” Khullar said. “I am fortunate to have played a small part in contributing to studying the first galaxies in the universe which have paused star formation — systems called quiescent galaxies.”

Awarded annually since 2011 by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the Berkeley prize recognizes research that advances the field of astronomy. The prize includes a monetary award and an invitation to give the closing plenary lecture at the AAS winter meeting in January.

This story was adapted from a press release by AAS.

Ģ����Ƶ doctoral student receives 2026 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award��

, a doctoral student in the Ģ����Ƶ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was , which recognizes exceptional early-career researchers advancing the future of information and communications technology.��

A researcher in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering’s Mobile Intelligence Lab, Itani works with , a Ģ����Ƶ professor of computer science and engineering, to develop AI-powered�� devices that give users greater control over what they hear. The technology could allow someone wearing earbuds or hearing aids to amplify specific voices or sounds they want to focus on while reducing unwanted background noise.��

That ability could��make�� listening��more customizable, from following a conversation in a crowded restaurant to better distinguishing important sounds in noisy environments. Itani and his collaborators are currently advancing systems designed to enable this kind of real-time “superhuman” hearing on earbuds and hearing aids.��

“I feel like I’ve hit a niche that’s going to be so transformational,” Itani said, noting that the technology could eventually reach billions of devices. “It’s going to change the way we hear the world.”��

Because of that potential reach, Itani said he feels a responsibility to continue advancing the technology and its ability to��impact��people’s�� lives.��

Itani and his collaborators have also launched��Hearvana��AI to commercialize their research. He and his fellow honorees will be formally recognized at the Marconi Awards Gala & Institute Forums, held Nov. 4–6 in San Francisco.����

Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience receives NSF CAREER Award to study brain circuits driving social behaviors��

Sama Ahmed, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, received a 2026 National Science Foundation CAREER Award of more than $1.4 million.��

The NSF CAREER Award is the agency’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty, recognizing those with the potential to become academic leaders in both research and education.��

With the award, Ahmed and his team will study the brain circuits behind “proceptivity” — the active behaviors animals use to pursue and engage potential mates. Using fruit flies, the most complex organism with a fully mapped brain and a species with well-studied social behaviors, the researchers will use advanced genetic and imaging tools in the Ahmed Lab to watch how different neural networks in the brain talk to each other in real time.��

Instead of looking at how the brain does one thing at a time, Ahmed’s team tracks how the nervous system switches between responding to external social cues and actively generating social behaviors. Understanding how the brain juggles these competing choices helps researchers understand how more complex brains — including our own — prioritize information and decide when to act.��

“I’ve always wanted to understand how our brains generate and respond to social signals,” Ahmed said, adding that the CAREER Award opens a new way for his lab to investigate that question.��

The project will also provide research training opportunities for high school, undergraduate and graduate students and support the development of open-source computational tools and STEM modules focused on coding and automated behavioral tracking. The award will also allow Ahmed to create a new Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), where students will use technologies such as��connectomics��and optogenetics to investigate questions that, as Ahmed put it, “nobody has answered yet.”��

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Recent recognition of faculty and staff at the Ģ����Ƶ includes France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Richard R. Ernst Prize for contributions to magnetic resonance, and a National Science Foundation CAREER award from the Division of Materials Research.

Ģ����Ƶ professor named CNRS��fellow-ambassador��

, Ģ����Ƶ professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, was welcomed into the 2026 cohort of��fellow-ambassadors by France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Active across all scientific fields for more than 80 years, CNRS is Europe’s largest fundamental research agency.��

Launched in 2023, the CNRS Fellow-Ambassador program brings internationally recognized researchers to France to foster scientific collaboration. As one of nine members selected this year, Olden joins a group that includes Nobel laureates and other globally renowned researchers, with��nearly 30��active��fellow-ambassadors.��

As part of the program, Olden will spend time in France over the next three summers, collaborating with scientists on research aimed at addressing sustainability challenges facing freshwater ecosystems.��

The opportunity closely aligns with Olden’s broader research program, which focuses on advancing the science and practice of freshwater conservation. His work spans climate change, conservation biology, invasive species, and freshwater community ecology, with an emphasis on bridging fundamental research and practical conservation challenges through quantitative approaches.��

Olden��noted��that France has long been home to some of the world’s most talented scientists.����

“The opportunity to work alongside them—exchanging ideas, tackling shared challenges in freshwater sciences and building lasting research partnerships—is something I look forward to enormously,” Olden said.��

Chemistry professor receives 2026 Richard R. Ernst Prize for contributions to magnetic resonance

, Ģ����Ƶ professor of chemistry, was one of four researchers awarded the 2026 Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance, presented at the EUROMAR 2026 conference in Gothenburg, Sweden.��The��annual prize recognizes scientific achievements that expand the capabilities and impact of magnetic resonance.��

Stoll was recognized for his contributions to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) through widely adopted computational tools and data analysis methods, particularly��EasySpin, software developed and��maintained��by Stoll and colleagues. The software has become a standard resource in magnetic resonance laboratories, allowing researchers to simulate and analyze complex EPR spectra.��

EPR experiments produce signals that scientists use to learn about the structure and behavior of molecules and materials.��EasySpin��helps researchers interpret those signals by allowing them to model what an experiment should look like under different conditions and compare those simulations with real-world data. That capability supports research ranging from understanding how the structure and movement of proteins affect their function to studying molecular systems with potential applications in quantum sensing.��

For Stoll, the award also brings attention to a part of the scientific process that can��operate��behind the scenes: developing and��maintaining��the software researchers rely on to do their work. He noted that although scientific software is essential to many research pipelines and workflows, securing federal or foundation funding for its development can be difficult.��

“It’s very exciting for scientific software development to get some recognition,” Stoll said.��

Stoll��also credited the��EasySpin��user community with helping drive continued improvements to the software’s scope, performance,��accessibility��and usability.

Ģ����Ƶ professor of physics receives NSF CAREER Award to study electron interactions in quantum materials��

, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of physics, received a 2026 National Science Foundation CAREER Award of more than $600,000 from the Division of Materials Research.

The NSF CAREER Award is the agency’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty, recognizing those with the potential to become academic leaders in both research and education.

With the award, Barnard and his team will study how interactions between electrons give rise to unusual forms of electronic order in two-dimensional quantum materials, including superconducting states and electronic crystals. The researchers will use a new measurement technique developed in Barnard’s Classical and Quantum Nanosystems Lab that allows them to deliberately change how electrons interact while simultaneously measuring how the material responds.

In other words, rather than only observing the properties of a quantum material, Barnard’s team can adjust one of the forces shaping those properties and watch what changes. Understanding how these interactions produce behaviors such as superconductivity could help researchers learn how to more precisely control the electronic properties of materials, foundational knowledge for the development of future electronic and quantum technologies.

Barnard said his lab has spent the past several years developing what he described as a “one-of-a-kind tool” to help researchers better understand how superconductivity and other phenomena emerge in atomically thin materials.

“Now, with NSF CAREER funding, we are beginning to put this tool to work and looking forward to what we will discover,” Barnard said.

The project will also provide research training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and support the development of open-source hardware and STEM modules that offer hands-on experience with van der Waals material assembly and electronic measurements.

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Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes American COuncil of Learned Societies Fellowship, Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship and Humboldt Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Assistant professor awarded 2026 ACLS Fellowship��

, assistant professor in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature at the Ģ����Ƶ, was awarded a 2026 ACLS Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. The fellowship recognizes excellence in humanities and social sciences research and supports scholars whose work is poised to make original and significant contributions to their fields.��Rominger��will be the 2026 ACLS Pauline Yu Fellow.����

“It means a great deal to hold a fellowship in Pauline Yu’s name,” Rominger said. “Her scholarship on Chinese poetics is part of why I do this work.”��

This year, the program awarded more than $3.5 million to 63 scholars selected from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants.��

Rominger specializes in early Chinese literary and intellectual history. His project, “Aurality and the Search for Sound and Meaning in Early Chinese Texts,” examines how sound-based patterning��shaped meaning in early Chinese��philosophical texts, particularly in��writings��from the Warring States period to the Han dynasty.����

Rominger’s research shows how early Chinese thinkers employed the sound of language not only for style but also to build arguments and express complex ideas. The project brings together close readings of ancient texts, historical reconstructions of Old Chinese pronunciation, and computational tools to offer new insight into the relationship between literary form and philosophical thought.

Postdoctoral scholar awarded Arnold O. Beckman Fellowship in Chemical Instrumentation��

, a Ģ����Ƶ postdoctoral scholar��in��chemistry, was awarded the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Instrumentation. The fellowship supports advanced research by postdoctoral scholars in fundamental chemistry and the development and construction of chemical instrumentation.��

The award provides two years of funding, along with an��additional��$200,000 budget to support instrumentation costs.��

With the fellowship, Rebstock will build a new vibrational spectroscopy instrument designed to��observe��chemical reactions as they happen at surfaces. The instrument will allow researchers to see how molecules move and interact in real time, offering insight into surface chemistry that could help improve technologies such as batteries and clean fuels.��

This fellowship provides Rebstock with a rare opportunity to combine instrument development with fundamental chemistry questions. “I’m excited to pursue both and to explore new ways of probing the chemistry that happens at interfaces.” Rebstock said.��

Ģ����Ƶ researcher receives Humboldt Research Award��

a Ģ����Ƶ professor of Earth and space sciences,��received a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The award recognizes internationally leading researchers across all disciplines for their academic record and significant contributions to their fields.��

Each year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards to researchers from abroad. Awardees receive personal award��money and��are invited to carry out research projects of their��choosing��in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany.��

Teng said he was deeply honored by the recognition and grateful to Professor��Harry��Becker, head��of the Geochemistry Group at��FU-Berlin, for��the nomination. The award will allow��Teng��to spend extended periods over the next few years conducting research at Freie University Berlin, beginning with his��sabbatical this��summer.��

“It is a wonderful opportunity to spend extended periods over the next few years conducting cutting-edge research at Freie University Berlin,” Teng said.��

The award will also enable Teng to develop new collaborations across Germany and become part of the Humboldt Foundation’s international network of distinguished researchers.��

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Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Rosentiel Award for contributions to ocean science, and the 2026 Distinguished Community Engagement Award

Assistant professor of chemistry awarded 2026 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award��

, assistant��professor��of��chemistry��at the��Ģ����Ƶ, received��a 2026 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The award supports early-career faculty in the chemical sciences who have created an outstanding independent body of scholarship and��demonstrated��a strong commitment to education.����

Each Camille Dreyfus��teacher-scholar��receives an unrestricted research grant of $100,000. Golder was one of 17 scholars selected for the 2026 award.����

Golder’s research focuses on the design and reconstruction of plastics, with an emphasis on improving polymer integrity and sustainability. The work explores how chemical design can support stronger, more adaptable materials while addressing broader challenges in plastic waste and long-term environmental impact.��

Golder said the foundation’s support will give his group the flexibility to continue pursuing “the boldest and most exciting ideas” over the next five years.��The��recognition��also��reflects the hard work and creativity of his research group over the past six years, he said.��

Principal oceanographer receives Rosenstiel Award��

, principal oceanographer at the Ģ����Ƶ Applied Physics Laboratory��and affiliate��assistant��professor��at the School of��Oceanography, received the��2026 Rosenstiel Award. The award, created in 1971 by the Rosenstiel Foundation, honors mid-career scientists whose work has made significant and growing impacts in their fields.����

The award is presented each year on a rotating basis across marine geosciences, atmospheric sciences, marine biology and ecology, ocean��sciences,��and environmental science policy. Whalen was invited to present a lecture at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine,��Atmospheric,��and Earth Science, where the award was presented in April.����

Whalen studies small-scale physics��in the ocean, including processes that generate turbulence��and mix the water, along with how these processes��interact with the dynamics of the water across ocean basins. Her work helps scientists better understand the physical drivers that shape climate and marine environments.��

Whalen said she was honored to receive the award and to join the ranks of oceanographers whose work she admires. Receiving the award also gave Whalen the opportunity to visit the Rosenstiel School, where she met with faculty and students and learned more about their work.

Professor receives Distinguished Community Engagement Award��

,��professor of ethnic, gender and labor studies and American Indian studies and adjunct professor of education at Ģ����Ƶ Tacoma��received the 2026 Distinguished Community Engagement Award in the project category. Montgomery is also an adjunct professor of bioethics and humanities at the Ģ����Ƶ School of Medicine.��The award recognizes her leadership of the Indigenous Speaker Series and Community Engagement: Promoting Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Multigenerational Community Learning.��

Through support for the Haida Sails Resurgence Project and the Northwest Maritime Center, Montgomery’s work has created meaningful opportunities for co-learning, cultural��exchange,��and the uplifting of Indigenous Knowledge Systems through place-based and multigenerational learning experiences.��

Montgomery’s community-engaged scholarship focuses on amplifying Indigenous voices, supporting dialogue around cultural and traditional lived experiences and strengthening partnerships that connect academic spaces with community knowledge. The Indigenous Speaker Series, which Montgomery created in 2015, has become a platform for sharing place-based Indigenous��knowledges��and expanding conversations across communities.����

“As a visitor to the Pacific Northwest, it is an honor to continue the responsibility to uplift place-based Indigenous��knowledges��and nurture the reciprocity of community partnerships,” Montgomery said.��

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Three Ģ����Ƶ faculty members��have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Their work spans environmental science,��computing��and engineering, addressing challenges ranging from climate resilience and ecosystem sustainability to artificial intelligence and accessible healthcare technologies.��

Founded in 1780, the����recognizes leaders across disciplines whose work advances research, public policy��and the common good. The Academy elects��roughly 250��members each year.��

,��Ģ����Ƶ��professor��in��the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, was��elected��for research on how climate change,��urbanization, and��land use affect freshwater ecosystems and fisheries.��

Schindler’s work focuses on salmon habitats, watershed health��and ecosystem resilience in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, helping scientists better understand how environmental change affects ecosystems, wildlife��and communities that rely on fisheries.��

“I’m deeply honored by the recognition,” Schindler said. “I’m also grateful for the colleagues and students at the Ģ����Ƶ whose��curiosity��and camaraderie have made our science impactful and genuinely fun.”��

,��professor of computer science and engineering and��director of the Allen��School,��was elected��for��contributions to data management and data science,��as well as her leadership roles at Ģ����Ƶ and nationally.��

Balazinska��develops data management systems and techniques��to help users across domains process complex and large datasets more efficiently and more easily, including tabular data, images and videos,��content��generated by��artificial intelligence,��and scientific datasets. Her work has included systems for cloud analytics, stream��processing, and video��analysis��among others.������

Balazinska��said joining the Academy��shows��how far science and engineering have come, while also��highlighting future��opportunities that will��arise as AI reshapes research and discovery.��

“AI has the potential to accelerate progress in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the start of my career,” she said.��

, professor in the��Allen School��and the��Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was��elected��for research in ubiquitous computing, human-computer��interaction��and sensor-enabled systems.��

Patel develops technologies that use smartphones,��sensors��and machine learning to expand access to healthcare and improve sustainability. His work includes smartphone-based health screening tools designed to improve access to care, as well as technologies that help households��monitor��energy and water use more efficiently.��

Several technologies developed by Patel and his students have been commercialized through startups and later adopted by major companies, including Google.��

Patel said he was “humbled and honored” by the recognition and��wants it to encourage��broader thinking about the role of applied computing research.��

“I hope this serves as a catalyst for others to embrace a broader, more practical perspective on what computing can achieve for society,” he said.��

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Affiliate professor of biology receives 2026 Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award��

, a research scientist and affiliate professor in the in the Department of Biology at the Ģ����Ƶ, was honored with the ��from the��. The award recognizes exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, teaching, and service in marine mammalogy.��

Over a 40-year career, Moore’s research has focused on cetacean ecology, acoustics, and natural history, particularly in the Arctic. A prolific researcher, she is widely recognized as a pioneer in using marine mammals as ecosystem sentinels in this rapidly changing region. Over decades of studying whales, Moore has helped scientists understand the health of ocean environments and how they are changing over time. Her work provides critical insight into the impacts of climate change in the Arctic and how marine ecosystems are responding. Her contributions to Arctic science have also been recognized with the����from the International Arctic Science Committee and the 2023����from the Alaska SeaLife Center; she is also a science adviser to the Washington State Academy of��Sciences,��and was appointed Commissioner��of the�� in 2022.

Natt-Lingafelter professor of chemistry awarded 2026 Earle K. Plyler Prize��

,��professor of chemistry at the Ģ����Ƶ,��was��awarded the 2026�� from the American Physical Society for her impactful contributions to the anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy and dynamics of molecular radicals, ions, and clusters. Established in 1976, the prize honors pioneering spectroscopist Earle K. Plyler and is sponsored by the Journal of Chemical Physics. The prize will be presented at the APS Global Physics Summit, the world’s largest physics research conference, in March 2026.

McCoy’s research focuses on theoretical chemistry, where she develops methods to understand how molecules move, vibrate, and exchange energy. Her work has helped scientists better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules—providing insight into how chemical reactions occur and how energy flows through molecular systems. Much of her recent work has focused on hydrogen-bonded systems and, specifically, proton transport. She is also interested in exotic molecules, like CH5+ and H5+, which have been proposed to exist in the interstellar medium. These advances help lay the groundwork for progress in areas ranging from atmospheric chemistry to materials science.

Ģ����Ƶ joint professor of mathematics and computer science awarded inaugural Trevisan Prize��

Ģ����Ƶ professor ��has received the�� for his breakthrough contributions to the study of optimization problems.��Rothvoss��holds joint appointments in the Department of Mathematics and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and was honored in the mid-career category—a recognition of his impactful work over the course of his career.

for outstanding work in the theory of computing is sponsored by the Department of Computing Sciences at Bocconi University and the Italian Academy of Sciences. Awardees receive a one-time monetary prize and a medal and are invited to give public lectures at Bocconi University. The award ceremony and lectures took place in January 2026.

Rothvoss��has built a distinguished record of contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete optimization. He shares that “over the years my focus has changed a bit…I worked on approximation algorithms, which deal with finding provably good solutions to NP-hard problems in polynomial time.” His work has since shifted toward discrepancy theory and the theoretical foundations of linear and integer programming.��In simple terms,��Rothvoss��studies��the mathematics��behind making��optimal��decisions��in��highly complex��systems. His research helps reveal when efficient solutions are��possible and optimization problems can be solved.��

Political��science��professor��receives John Gaus Award��

,��professor of��political��science at the Ģ����Ƶ,��received the����from the American Political Science Association��(APSA).��

The John Gaus Award is presented annually to honor a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration. Prakash was selected unanimously for the award in recognition of a career devoted to advancing scholarship at the intersection of political science and public administration. A nomination letter noted that Prakash’s research, particularly on environmental issues, has helped bring environmental concerns into public administration in a variety of ways, including examining how businesses and NGOs can fill governance gaps. At the same time, the letter highlighted how his work explores the risks of these nontraditional governance mechanisms, including potential issues such as regulatory capture and accountability deficits.��

Prakash’s research spans environmental governance, public policy, and global political economy. Over the course of his career, he has published eight scholarly books and more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals, with his work cited more than 18,000 times across the field. As part of the honor, Prakash presented the Gaus Lecture at the APSA Annual Meeting in September 2025.

Washington Sea Grant��interim��director��receives��governor’s��leadership��award��

, interim director of Washington Sea Grant, received the��, which recognizes exemplary leadership and service to the state of Washington.

Little was honored for her work supporting the state’s coastal communities through Washington Sea Grant’s research, outreach, and partnership-driven initiatives.��

Little has dedicated more than 15 years to strengthening Washington’s coast through strategic vision, inclusive practices, and sustained investment in community-centered programs. Under her leadership, Washington Sea Grant delivered nearly $250 million in services and economic benefits statewide between 2021 and 2024, reflecting the program’s broad impact across coastal and maritime communities.��

“A big thank you to the team at Washington Sea Grant for the nomination,” Little said.��“I’m��deeply grateful to work alongside such thoughtful colleagues, who are so dedicated to our shared work.��I’m��so honored by this recognition from the��governor. This award really is a testament to the impact of Washington Sea Grant’s work in serving the state’s coastal communities.”

Biology��professor��awarded Rome Prize Fellowship in Environmental Arts & Humanities��

, professor of biology��at��the Ģ����Ƶ,��was awarded��the prestigious in the new Environmental Arts & Humanities category by the��. This pilot fellowship supports collaborative projects that explore how human beings relate to, experience, and interpret the natural world.

In partnership with Katharine Ogle, lecturer��of��English at��the University��of Southern California, Summers will pursue a project titled��“Piscis Romana.”��Their work draws on��natural history��research conducted at the Friday Harbor Laboratories to investigate the links between marine life,��ecology,��and poetic expression.��

“This��award will allow��Katie Ogle and��me to��further explore the links between poetry and natural history that have been developed by a group of us at Friday Harbor Labs,”��Summers said.��

Summers’ biological research spans marine and aquatic systems with a strong emphasis on understanding organismal form,��function,��and the broader natural-history context in which��species��evolve and interact. Partnering��with Ogle, he will extend that scientific inquiry into the realm of arts and humanities, looking at how the natural world inspires literary forms,��metaphors,��and cultural narratives.��

With this Rome Prize fellowship, Summers joins a competitive cohort selected from��nearly 1,000��applicants and will spend several��months in��residence at the Academy in Rome, working among scholars and artists from around the world.��

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Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes an AIS Early Career award, the Tomassoni-Chisesi prize for contributions to theoretical physics and the National Science Foundation CAREER award.

Foster School’s Mingwen Yang receives AIS early career award

, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of Information Systems and Operations Management in the Foster School of Business, received the from the Association for Information Systems.

is a leading international organization dedicated to advancing the practice and study of information systems. Established in 2014, the award recognizes exceptional early-career scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research, teaching and service in the field of information systems, both locally and globally.

A 2024 recipient, Yang was honored for her impactful early work and dedication to advancing the discipline through scholarship and education.

“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive the Association for Information Systems (AIS) Early Career Award, a meaningful milestone in the early stage of my academic journey,” said Yang.

David Kaplan awarded Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize for advances in theoretical physics

, Ģ����Ƶ professor of physics, received the for his contributions to theoretical physics. Awarded by Sapienza University of Rome, the prize — worth approximately $45,000 — was presented on March 18, 2025 by Giorgio Parisi, recipient of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Kaplan was recognized for solving a long-standing problem in physics: — those that exhibit handedness, meaning they behave differently when left- or right-handed — on a computer. His domain wall approach, which adds a fifth dimension to lattice simulations, has become a foundational tool in particle physics.

Reflecting on the personal significance of the recognition, Kaplan shared that the breakthrough has been decades in the making. “I first heard about the problem in 1981 when visiting Princeton,” he said. “Nobel laureate David Gross described it, and I didn’t really understand it then — but filed it away in my mind as something interesting.” That early spark led to a 1992 theory involving a five-dimensional model with two surfaces. It wasn’t until 2019, however, that he saw how a single-surface geometry — like a doughnut or sphere — could yield particles with the same interactions observed in nature, including the weak force. “The jury is still out … but I feel that I am on the right path now and it is very exciting.”�� When asked of his plans for the prize money, Kaplan shared his plans to donate to the Ģ����Ƶ Department of Physics — “which made the work possible.”

For such an incredible breakthrough, we asked what keeps him motivated to keep exploring such big, complex questions in physics. Kaplan’s answer was simple: “I don’t need motivation to think about complex questions in physics,” he said. “I do it in the shower, as I walk to work, and in my sleep… I find it all obsessively interesting and fun.”

Marchand Receives $800K NSF award to advance synthetic DNA research

, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of chemical engineering, received a from the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology Program.

The is the agency’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty, recognizing those with the potential to become academic leaders in both research and education.

With this award, Marchand’s lab will develop sequencing technologies capable of precisely reading and interpreting semi-synthetic DNA alphabets — genetic systems that use more than the four natural DNA bases found in all known life. In other words, while natural DNA uses a four-letter code (A, T, C, G), Marchand’s group is exploring the implications of expanding that alphabet to six letters. Their research aims to understand what happens to biological systems when the genetic code is fundamentally altered.

“Life evolved to use a four-letter DNA alphabet,” Marchand said. “How much of biology breaks versus works when we change that alphabet to six letters is unknown. New technology is required to investigate these questions, which we will develop with this award.”

Marchand said he’s proud of the recognition for his lab’s “bold vision in engineering biology for compatibility with expanded genetic alphabets.”

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Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes an EarthLab Innovation Grant, the Best Paper Award from American Political Science Association and honorable recognition mention from the American Society for Theatre Research.

Ģ����Ƶ professor Richard Watts and team awarded EarthLab Innovation Grant

, Ģ����Ƶ associate professor of French, is part of an interdisciplinary team from the Ģ����Ƶ that received an to support their collaborative project, “Life in Spite of It All: Water, Wetlands, and Reclamation in a Changing Climate.”����

The $80,000 grant, awarded through EarthLab’s 2024–25 funding cycle, supports a team that also includes additional members of the Ģ����Ƶ faculty: , remote-sensing scientist in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, and��, professor of international studies and director of the Jackson School of International Studies. Independent wetlands scholar and visual artist rounds out the team. The project focuses on documenting climate change and cultural resilience in a threatened wetlands region of the Senegal River Valley in southwestern Mauritania.����

“This grant enabled our Seattle-based research and filmmaking team to conduct a second site visit to the region,” Watts said. “The footage the team gathered is now being edited for a documentary film that explores the environmental and human stakes of a disappearing landscape.”��

Political science faculty honored for research on religion, policy and economic discrimination

, Ģ����Ƶ associate professor of political science, received the from the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Religion & Politics Section.��

The award honors the best paper presented at the previous year’s APSA Annual Meeting that exemplifies the section’s mission: encouraging the study of the interrelations between religion and politics. Recipients are recognized for addressing timely and relevant topics in a theoretically innovative and methodologically rigorous way.��

Cansunar was recognized for her co-authored work, “Homogenizing the High Street: The Economic Cleansing of Minority Elites through Fiscal Discrimination,” which explores the complex interplay between faith and policy. She sees the award as a meaningful affirmation of her scholarship in a field that is continuously evolving.��

“Receiving this award recognizes my work on the interplay between faith and policy,” she said. “This recognition encourages further thoughtful analysis of the intersection between religion and politics, both within academia and beyond.”��

Theatre professor Stefka Mihaylova earns recognition for debut monograph

, Ģ����Ƶ associate professor of theatre theory and criticism, received honorable mention for from the American Society for Theatre Research.��

The honors exceptional research and scholarship in theatre history and is one of the most prestigious recognitions in the field. The honorable mention highlights Mihaylova’s debut monograph, “Viewers in Distress: Race, Gender, Religion, and Avant-Garde Performance at the Turn of the 21st Century.”��

In the book, Mihaylova examines how avant-garde performance art engages with identity, faith and social distress, offering new insights into the political power of live performance.��

“This is an award for my first monograph Viewers in Distress: Race, Gender, Religion, and Avant-Garde Performance at the Turn of the 21st Century,” Mihaylova said.��

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Recent recognition of the Ģ����Ƶ includes the Best Paper Award at NeurIPS Pluralistic Alignment Workshop, Scialog: Early Science with the LSST Collaborative Innovation Award and 2024 AVS Thin Film Young Investigator Award.

Professor wins ‘best paper’ at NeurIPS Pluralistic Alignment Workshop

, assistant professor in the Ģ����Ƶ Foster School of Business, received the $1,000 Best Paper Award on Pluralistic Alignment at the NeurIPS 2024 Workshop.

The Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, or NeurIPS, is one of the most influential conferences in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science and is known for its rigorous peer-review process.

Kleiman-Weiner co-authored the paper, “,” which introduces the MultiTP dataset — a collection of moral dilemmas in over 100 languages that enables the assessment of large language models’ decision-making in diverse linguistic contexts. The analysis explored the alignment of 19 LLMs with human judgments across six moral dimensions.

“By examining moral decisions across over 100 languages, we discovered that language models often fail to capture the rich diversity of human moral preferences across cultures,” Kleiman-Weiner said. “This reinforces why pluralistic alignment — ensuring AI systems can understand and respect different cultural perspectives — is so crucial as we develop these technologies. I’m excited about this work because it pushes us to think critically about whose values AI systems reflect. … We hope this research encourages more work on building AI systems that serve all of humanity, not just a select few.”

Nora Shipp receives Collaborative Innovation Award

, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of astronomy, was part of one of eight interdisciplinary teams awarded the in the first year of Scialog: Early Science with the LSST.

This initiative, launched by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, is a three-year program designed to support early-career scientists as they prepare to utilize data from the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or LSST, at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.

“Scialog has been a great opportunity to make connections with scientists across the field of astronomy to brainstorm new ideas for taking advantage of the unprecedented data that will soon be provided by the LSST,” said Shipp.

Shipp’s proposal brings together researchers to study stars and dark matter — not just in the Milky Way, but also in smaller galaxies. By using the LSST to reveal the faint outer regions of these galaxies, the research will help us to better understand the universe’s creation and the limits of how galaxies form.

, which is short for “science + dialog, “is a collaborative program launched by RCSA in 2010. It’s designed to accelerate breakthroughs by fostering a network of creative scientists across disciplines and encouraging intensive discussions on scientific themes of global importance.

As part of this initiative, the conference brought together an expert group of scientists and facilitators, including Eric Bellm, research associate professor of astronomy and DiRAC Institute Fellow, to guide the discussions.

Chemical engineering professor wins 2024 AVS Thin Film Young Investigator Award

, Ģ����Ƶ assistant professor of chemical engineering, has been named the 2024 recipient of the American Vacuum Society (AVS) . Named in honor of Professor Paul H. Holloway, a distinguished scholar and contributor to AVS, the award recognizes young scientists for significant theoretical and experimental contributions to thin film research.

Bergsman studies how to deposit layers of plastic that are 1/1000 the thickness of a human hair, which he uses to develop better materials for computer processors, clean energy, and water purification.

“The American Vacuum Society was foundational to my growth as a young scientist,” Bergsman said. “I am deeply honored to receive this award from a community which has always been an inspiring and supportive environment. I’m excited to continue engaging with this network of scientists and pushing the boundaries of research in interfacial engineering, surface science, thin films, and related technologies.”

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