Note to editors: Photos available at http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1733
IRVINE — UC Irvine professors Alan F. Heyduk and Bill Tomlinson have been awarded a 2008 Sloan Research Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards given to young researchers.
The Sloan Research Fellowship program, which began in 1955, will provide recipients with $50,000 over two years to pursue research of their choosing. Heyduk and Tomlinson are among 118 scientists at 64 colleges and universities to receive the honor this year.
The program supports the work of exceptional young researchers in a variety of fields, including physics, computer science, economics and mathematics. Nine UCI researchers have earned Sloan fellowships in the past five years.
Heyduk, an assistant professor of chemistry who joined the UCI faculty in 2003, is researching fundamental chemistry problems related to alternative energy. He also is part of UCI’s Center for Solar Energy.
“The Sloan fellowship is an important award that targets the type of fundamental research we do,” Heyduk said. “It’s a tremendous honor to be included.”
Tomlinson, assistant professor of informatics and affiliate of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), is interested in the relationship between information technology and environmental issues, human-computer interaction and educational technology. He joined the UCI faculty in 2003.
“Both the Bren School of ICS and Calit2 have been incredibly supportive of my research over the last several years,” Tomlinson said. “This fellowship is an exciting external recognition from a major philanthropic institute, and helps give me the financial freedom to pursue other cutting-edge projects in the future.”
The Department of Chemistry at UCI produces the second-highest number of chemistry majors in the United States. It is located in the School of Physical Sciences – which also includes departments of Earth system science, mathematics, and physics and astronomy.
The school rates among the nation’s best in atmospheric chemistry, organic chemistry, geoscience, elementary particle physics and condensed matter physics research.
The Department of Informatics studies the design, application, use and impacts of information technology, and is one of three departments in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences along with computer science and statistics. The Bren School, established in 2002, is the only computer science school in the University of California system.
About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students and nearly 2,000 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.6 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
Television: UCI has a broadcast studio available for live or taped interviews. For more information, visit www.today.uci.edu/broadcast.
News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. The use of this line is available free-of-charge to radio news programs/stations who wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.
UCI maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media. To access, visit www.today.uci.edu/experts.
For UCI breaking news, visit www.zotwire.uci.edu.