Two professors from Northwestern University, Alexander Smith and Allison Strom, have been named 2025 Sloan Research Fellows by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. They are among 126 early-career scientists and scholars recognized this year for their research accomplishments and potential contributions to their fields.
The Sloan Research Fellowship is a two-year award of $75,000. Recipients are selected by an independent panel of senior scholars and represent various disciplines including chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, stated: “The Sloan Research Fellows represent the very best of early-career science, embodying the creativity, ambition and rigor that drive discovery forward. These extraordinary scholars are already making significant contributions, and we are confident they will shape the future of their fields in remarkable ways.”
Alexander Smith is an assistant professor of mathematics at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. He received his fellowship in mathematics. Smith specializes in number theory and uses algebraic and analytic methods to identify statistical patterns within number-theoretic structures. His work aims to explain how rare phenomena emerge systematically on a larger scale. Smith has also received honors such as the David Goss Prize in Number Theory and the 2025 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize.
Allison Strom is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Weinberg College. She is affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI). Strom was awarded her fellowship in physics. Her research focuses on observing galaxies throughout cosmic history to understand their internal properties and growth patterns. She seeks to determine why galaxies follow different evolutionary paths. Strom’s recognitions include a Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation as well as being named a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences.
Since 1955, when these fellowships were first awarded, 171 faculty members from Northwestern have received a Sloan Research Fellowship. Many recipients have gone on to receive major scientific awards including Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science, Fields Medals in mathematics, and John Bates Clark Medals in economics.
