A faculty member at The University of Texas at Austin whose research combines applied mathematics and theoretical neuroscience has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship for 2017.
Thibaud Taillefumier, an assistant professor in mathematics and neuroscience, is currently using groups of neurons to understand how "macroscopic" behaviorally relevant functions emerge from noisy "microscopic" interactions.
Studying similar questions in the context of bacterial communities, Taillefumier recently answered long-standing questions about high species numbers in some ecosystems and about the benefit of metabolic division of labor in these ecosystems. He will receive $60,000 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to further his research.
Sloan research fellowships are awarded annually to honor early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars. Taillefumier is among 126 U.S. and Canadian researchers from 60 universities and colleges to receive an award this year.
"The Sloan Research Fellows are the rising stars of the academic community," says Paul L. Joskow, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "Through their achievements and ambition, these young scholars are transforming their fields and opening up entirely new research horizons. We are proud to support them at this crucial stage of their careers."
Since the awards began in 1955, 43 former fellows have gone on to receive a Nobel Prize in their respective field, 16 have won the Fields Medal in mathematics and 69 have received the National Medal of Science.
A complete list of 2017 Sloan Fellows is available here.
Comments