Three faculty members from Caltech have been chosen to receive Sloan Research Fellowships in 2025: Scott Cushing, assistant professor of chemistry; Ryan Hadt, assistant professor of chemistry; and Kareem El-Badry, assistant professor of astronomy.
The fellowships, which have been granted annually since 1955, “recognize outstanding researchers at educational institutions in the US and Canada, whose ingenuity, originality, and research achievements distinguish them as the forthcoming generation of innovators,” according to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which presents the accolades. This year, 126 early-career scholars were selected to receive this distinction, which includes a two-year stipend of $75,000 that can be utilized flexibly to support the recipient’s research.
Cushing, who became part of Caltech in 2018, develops laser-based instrumentation for the domains of chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science. He creates instruments that utilize ultrafast lasers and electrons to convert quantum phenomena into practical devices and applications. Currently, the Cushing lab is at the forefront of employing high-flux compact sources of entangled photons for microscopy and spectroscopy, while also investigating attosecond- (one quintillionth of a second), X-ray, and time-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) techniques in various systems ranging from solar materials to batteries and molecules. Cushing attained both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in physics from West Virginia University in 2011 and 2015, respectively.
Hadt, who joined Caltech in 2018, specializes in inorganic chemistry applications across chemistry, biology, and materials science. He explores how molecular structure and bonding affect the quantum characteristics that underpin the potential uses of magnetic molecules in quantum information science. His research group also employs various steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies to investigate the significance of transition-metal electronic structure in photocatalysis. Hadt acquired both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in inorganic chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 2007 and 2008. He earned his PhD in inorganic chemistry from Stanford University in 2014.
El-Badry, who began his tenure at Caltech in 2023, is an astronomer researching black holes, binary stars, and other unusual stellar entities utilizing extensive telescope surveys, focused telescope observations, and theoretical work. He seeks to comprehend, among other inquiries, how binary star systems originate, progress, and interact with their environments. For instance, using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, he has analyzed the subtle “wobble” in the apparent positions of stars as they revolve around hidden companions. This research has enabled him to identify the closest known black holes to Earth and the first dormant neutron stars. El-Badry completed his bachelor’s degree in astrophysics at Yale University in 2016 and attained his PhD in astrophysics from UC Berkeley in 2021.
Learn more about the program at https://sloan.org.