Jason Altschuler, César de la Fuente, Liang Wu, and Anderson Ye Zhang have been honored as early-career researchers and scholars for their accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in their fields.
Jason Altschuler (top left) and Anderson Ye Zhang (bottom left) of the Wharton School, Liang Wu (bottom right) of the School of Arts & Sciences, and César de la Fuente (top right) of the Perelman School of Medicine have been named 2025 Sloan Research Fellows. They are among 126 early-career scientists in North America chosen this year to receive the two-year, $75,000 fellowship in recognition of their accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in their fields.
César de la Fuente is a Presidential Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine, with secondary appointments in Penn Engineering and Penn Arts & Sciences. The de la Fuente Lab pioneered the first AI-designed antibiotic with in vivo efficacy, launching AI-driven antibiotic discovery, and has identified more than a million new antimicrobial compounds. His work has accelerated antibiotic discovery, cutting preclinical candidate identification from years to hours and turning decades of research into hours. De la Fuente has won more than 80 awards, appeared as an invited speaker at more than 300 talks, is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and is a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader. He has authored more than 170 publications and holds multiple patents. de la Fuente has been named a Sloan Fellow for his contributions to the field of chemistry.
Liang Wu is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Penn Arts & Sciences. He uses advanced laser and light-based techniques to study materials that could power next-generation quantum computers, solar cells, and memory devices. His work focuses on materials like superconductors and quantum magnets, aiming to make future technology faster and more efficient. Wu has given more than 120 invited talks, and his honors include the Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from the American Physical Society, the Army Research Office Young Investigator Program Award, the William L. McMillan Award for outstanding contributions in condensed matter physics from the University of Illinois, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by the Army Research Office. Wu has been named a Sloan Fellow for his contributions to the field of physics.
Anderson Ye Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at the Wharton School. His research interests include network analysis, clustering, spectral analysis, and analysis of preference data. A central theme of his work is the investigation of fundamental limits and the development of efficient computational methods in complex statistical problems. Working at the intersection of statistics and machine learning, he aims to advance both the theoretical and practical frontiers of modern data analysis. He is also a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award. Zhang has been named a Sloan Fellow for his contributions to the field of mathematics.
Since the Sloan Research Fellowships were first awarded in 1955, 135 faculty from Penn have been recipients. The Fellowships are among the most competitive available to researchers in North America.
Open to scholars in chemistry, computer science, earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics, Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded in coordination with the scientific community. Candidates must be nominated by fellow scientists, and recipients are selected by independent panels of senior scholars based on research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in their fields.
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
From framework to actions: Provost John L. Jackson Jr. talks Penn Forward
In a Q&A, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. explains the relationship between the strategic framework In Principle and Practice and Penn Forward—a new University-wide process and action plan that will advance Penn forward for the next decade and beyond.
