Two UW–Madison researchers receive prestigious Sloan Fellowships

Two members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty are among 126 scientists across the United States and Canada selected as Sloan Research Fellows.

The fellowships, awarded annually since 1955, honor exceptional scientists whose creativity, innovation and research accomplishments make them stand out as future leaders in their fields.

UW–Madison’s 2024 Sloan Fellows are Ke Fang, assistant professor of physics, and Xiangyao Yu, assistant professor of computer sciences.

Using data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and Fermi Large Area Telescope along with numerical simulations, Ke Fang studies the origin of subatomic particles — like neutrinos — that reach Earth from across the universe.

Xiangyao Yu works on database systems, focusing on database hardware, databases built to be used by cloud-based applications and streamlining combined processes of updating and analyzing data in large databases.

“Sloan Research Fellowships are extraordinarily competitive awards involving the nominations of the most inventive and impactful early-career scientists across the U.S. and Canada,” says Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We look forward to seeing how fellows take leading roles shaping the research agenda within their respective fields.”

Founded in 1934, the Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Sloan Fellows are chosen in seven fields — chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience and physics — based on nomination and consideration by fellow scientists. The 2024 cohort comes from 53 institutions and a field that included more than 1,000 nominees. Winners receive a two-year, $75,000 fellowship that can be used flexibly to advance their research.

Among current and former Sloan Fellows, 57 have won a Nobel Prize, 71 have been awarded the National Medal of Science, 17 have won the Fields Medal in mathematics and 23 have won the John Bates Clark Medal in economics.