Jonathan Zhu has been awarded a 2023 Sloan Research Fellowship. His research explores the theory and geometry of surfaces governed by their curvature, and how these surfaces interact with the space around them. Mathematical notions of curvature form the language by which many natural phenomena are described, cell membranes, soap films, and the structure of spacetime via general relativity. "Mathematics, and especially geometry, is all around us. By carefully studying seemingly everyday phenomena—such as soap bubbles—we are able to develop profound mathematical theories, which have applications to phenomena that are otherwise impossibly out of reach, such as black holes. In doing so, we create completely new concepts by which to understand the world we live in."
Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships honor extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders. A full list of the 2023 Fellows cohort is available at https://sloan.org/fellowships/2023-Fellows.
Open to scholars in seven scientific and technical fields—chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics—the Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded in close coordination with the scientific community. Candidates must be nominated by their fellow scientists and winners are selected by independent panels of senior scholars on the basis of a candidate’s research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become a leader in their field. More than 1000 researchers are nominated each year for 125 fellowship slots.