Yale Trio Wins Sloan Research Fellowships

Three Yale faculty members awarded prestigious early-career research grants

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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Three Yale University faculty members - John Eric Humphries, Liang Liang, and Diana Y. Qiu - have been awarded Sloan Research Fellowships, prestigious two-year grants given to promising early-career researchers in the United States and Canada.

Why it matters

The Sloan Research Fellowships are highly competitive and considered a major career milestone for young scientists, providing them with funding and recognition to advance their innovative research programs. Yale has produced 146 Sloan Fellows since the program began in 1955, demonstrating the university's strength in cultivating top talent in fields like economics, neuroscience, and materials science.

The details

Humphries, an assistant professor of economics, was recognized for his work studying how public policies impact economic opportunity for families and young adults. Liang, an assistant professor of neuroscience, was awarded a fellowship for her research on how the brain processes visual information. Qiu, an assistant professor of materials science, received a fellowship for her work developing new theoretical and computational tools to understand quantum-level properties of materials.

  • The 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships were awarded on February 18, 2026.

The players

John Eric Humphries

An assistant professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Yale University, a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economics Research, and an affiliate of the Cowles Foundation and the CESifo Research Network.

Liang Liang

An assistant professor of neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and a member of the Wu Tsai Institute.

Diana Y. Qiu

An assistant professor of materials science at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) and a member of the Materials Science Department and the Energy Sciences Institute at Yale West Campus.

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The takeaway

The Sloan Research Fellowships highlight Yale's ability to attract and develop top early-career talent across a range of scientific disciplines, from economics and neuroscience to materials science. These awards demonstrate the university's commitment to supporting innovative research that can lead to breakthroughs and shape the future of these important fields.