Five faculty in the College of Natural Sciences have recently been awarded 2012 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars, the next generation of scientific leaders.

The recipients are:

• Laura Colgin, assistant professor in the Section of Neurobiology
• Kristen Grauman, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science
• Michael Walfish, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science
• Rachel Ward, assistant professor and Harrington Faculty Fellow in the Department of Mathematics
• Lauren Webb, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

The faculty are part of a group of 126 outstanding U.S. and Canadian researchers that received Sloan Research Fellowships for 2012.

“Today’s Sloan Research Fellows are tomorrow’s Nobel Prize winners,” said Paul Joskow, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “These outstanding men and women are responsible for some of the most exciting science being done today. The Foundation is proud to support them during this pivotal stage of their careers.”

Fellows receive $50,000 to be used to further their research.