Demba Ba and Shmuel Rubinstein named Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows

Electrical engineer Demba Ba and applied physicist Shmuel Rubinstein, assistant professors at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), have been named 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows.

They are among 126 Fellows selected from the United States and Canada this year in recognition of “distinguished performance and a unique ability to make substantial contributions to their field.”

The $50,000 award to each Fellow will support Ba’s research in the area of computational neuroscience and Rubinstein’s work in the field of non-linear physics.

“We are delighted that the Sloan Foundation has recognized Demba and Shmuel for their outstanding promise,” said Frank Doyle, John A. Paulson Dean and John A. & Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “It is a great indicator of the trajectory of SEAS, when two of our most recent faculty hires are recognized among the top early-career scientists.”

Ba, who joined the SEAS faculty last fall, explores large-scale dynamic systems and develops theories and algorithms to understand and control those systems. Rubinstein, a SEAS faculty member since July 2013, studies the physics of complex systems and non-linear dynamics that take place at interfaces, like frictional sliding, the splashing of drops, and the formation of biofilms.

Previous Sloan Fellows at SEAS have included Ryan Adams (2015), Ariel Amir (2015), Stephen Chong (2014), Krzysztof Gajos (2013), Vinothan Manoharan (2011), Marko Loncar (2010), Todd Zickler (2008), and Maurice Smith (2007).

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit institution that supports original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics.