The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has named Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics member Allison Strom, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, as a recipient of the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship for 2026.
The $75,000 fellowship, awarded over two years, is among the most selective and distinguished honors available to early-career researchers. Chosen by an independent committee of senior scholars, fellows are recognized for their contributions across a range of disciplines, including chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Strom, a member of the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI), received a Sloan fellowship in physics. She and her group study galaxies across the history of the Universe to uncover their internal characteristics and trace how they have grown and changed over time. Through this work, she seeks to explain why galaxies develop along distinct evolutionary trajectories.
Strom has received numerous additional honors, including a Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She was also selected as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences.
“I was very excited to receive the news, and I’m honored to be included in a community of scientists who are all working at the frontiers of their field,” said Strom. “My group and I have been working to deepen the connection between studies of distant galaxies and other parts of astrophysics, such as the evolution of massive stars and Galactic archaeology, and I look forward to continuing these efforts with the support of the Sloan Foundation.”
Congratulations Allison!