Three faculty members at the University of Washington have been granted early-career fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Announced on Feb. 18, the new Sloan Fellows comprise Amy L. Orsborn, the Clare Boothe Luce assistant professor in electrical & computer engineering and bioengineering, Dianne J. Xiao, an assistant professor in chemistry within the College of Arts & Sciences, and Amy X. Zhang, assistant professor in computer science at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. 

Since the inaugural Sloan Research Fellowships were conferred in 1955, and counting this year’s fellows, 131 faculty at the University of Washington have been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship, according to the Sloan Foundation. 

The Sloan Fellowships are available to scholars across seven scientific and technical domains — chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics — recognizing early-career researchers whose contributions designate them as the upcoming generation of scientific pioneers. 

The 126 Sloan Fellows for 2025 were chosen by scholars and researchers within the scientific community. Nominations are made by peers, and an independent committee of senior scholars selects fellows based on the research achievements, creativity, and potential leadership of each nominee. Each fellow will receive $75,000 to support their research activities. 

This year’s fellows hail from 51 institutions throughout the United States and Canada. 

Orsborn’s investigations focus on understanding how neurons in the brain collaborate to enable various forms of movement learning. Utilizing engineering technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, she explores how neural activity correlates with movement, offering researchers innovative methods to connect neural functions with computations about potential brain operations. Additionally, she collaborates with theorists to develop models that assist in bridging experimental data with computational insights. 

“While we can swiftly apply our tennis skills to pickleball, mastering a piano concerto demands years of practice,” Orsborn stated. “Our adaptability likely stems from our brain’s capacity for diverse learning methods, yet the mechanisms by which neurons execute distinct learning computations remain unclear. My aim is to establish connections between computational theories and biological applications, ultimately facilitating the creation of therapies to recover movements lost due to conditions like strokes.” 

Xiao’s research initiative focuses on creating innovative porous materials to tackle unresolved problems in clean energy and chemical sustainability. This encompasses developing new porous adsorbents that leverage renewable electricity for driving chemical processes, alongside new porous catalysts for converting sustainable raw materials into valuable products. 

“Porous materials form the foundation of industrial heterogeneous catalysis and chemical separations. Numerous chemicals used in our everyday lives have been purified or transformed chemically within nano-sized pores at some point,” Xiao remarked. “Looking ahead, significant advancements in the synthesis of porous materials are essential to utilize renewable energy sources and chemical feedstocks effectively. With the backing of this award, along with the collaborative environment at UW, we aspire to achieve these synthetic advancements swiftly, efficiently, and economically.” 

Zhang’s research redefines the framework of online social platforms, aiming to empower users to control their digital interactions. Drawing inspiration from offline public entities and political theory, she engineers innovative social computing systems for the collective management of online communities and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, she devises tools for both personal and group customization in social media as well as strategies to promote constructive public discourse. 

“Digital platforms represent socio-technical systems that are essential to the lives of countless individuals, yet they are currently regulated and designed by a limited number of people,” Zhang stated. “Consequently, many users feel excluded from the decisions and configurations available on the major platforms they utilize. However, placing the responsibility on end-users alone to navigate this can be overwhelming. I create toolkits and interactive methods based on user requirements to facilitate customization, promoting both flexibility and user-friendliness.” 

Reach out to Orsborn at [email protected]; Xiao at [email protected]; and Zhang at [email protected].