Three faculty members from Yale University have been awarded the esteemed Sloan Research Fellowships, a recognition granted to early-career researchers in the United States and Canada. The recipients for this year are John Eric Humphries, Liang Liang, and Diana Y. Qiu, each of whom will receive a fellowship of $75,000. This announcement highlights the significant contributions of these scholars to their respective fields.
John Eric Humphries, an assistant professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, has been recognized for his work on the interplay between public policy and economic opportunities for various demographics, including children and families. Since joining Yale in 2018, Humphries has been a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an affiliate of the Cowles Foundation. His research utilizes innovative measurement strategies and quasi-experimental methodologies to provide causal insights into critical policy issues related to education, housing, and criminal justice.
Liang Liang, who joined Yale’s School of Medicine in 2020, received her fellowship in neuroscience. Her research focuses on understanding how neurons and neural circuits process visual information. As a member of the Wu Tsai Institute, Liang employs advanced techniques to map neural connectivity and monitor real-time neural activity, aiming to unravel the complexities of early visual processing.
Diana Y. Qiu, also a faculty member since 2020, specializes in materials science at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. Qiu’s work aims to explore novel properties of materials at the quantum level. By developing theoretical and computational tools, she seeks to enhance the understanding of light-matter interactions and many-electron correlations, thereby paving the way for advancements in materials research.
The Sloan Research Fellowships, first awarded in 1955, aim to support the most promising early-career scientists across seven disciplines, including chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Each year, candidates are nominated by fellow scientists, and an independent panel of senior scholars selects the winners based on their research accomplishments and potential for future leadership in their fields.
With this year’s cohort of 126 recipients, Yale has now seen a total of 146 faculty members honored with this fellowship since its inception. The recognition of Humphries, Liang, and Qiu underscores Yale’s commitment to fostering innovative research that addresses critical societal challenges.
