Assistant Professor Jon Froehlich and Assistant Professor Tom Goldstein named Sloan Fellows for 2017

On February 21st 2017, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation named its newest class of Sloan Research Fellows. This year, the Computer Science Department has the distinct honor of having two members of this year’s class of fellows: Assistant Professor Jon Froehlich and Assistant Professor Tom Goldstein.  They are among 126 researchers who have been awarded two-year fellowships “in recognition of their distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.”

Jon Froehlich joined the Department of Computer Science in 2012 after earning a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington in 2011. He has also recently been named a NSF Career Awardee for 2017.  “I am truly honored to receive the Sloan--an award that so many great, inspirational scientists have received and one that I previously thought unattainable for myself. I truly believe, however, that the recognition should be shared with my wonderful students and collaborators who help enable and enrich my research. I am also thankful for the support of the CS department and my colleagues in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab who have helped mentor and inspire me,” he said.

Tom Goldstein joined the Department of Computer Science in 2015 after spending time as a post-doctoral associate at Stanford University and Rice University after earning a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of California Los Angeles in 2010. "When I found out I got the Sloan I was pretty overwhelmed.  I know many great people who have gotten a Sloan, and I never expected to be among them," he said. "Even though this award goes to one person, the award was really given for work I did (and am still doing) with a number of people.  I'm incredibly grateful to my advisors and collaborators for teaching me how to be successful in research.  In particular, Stanley Osher, Richard Baraniuk, Guillermo Sapiro, and Mario Figueiredo have been incredibly influential on my research, and have helped guide me in the right directions. My long-time collaborators, among them Christoph Studer and Gavin Taylor, have been an endless source of good ideas."

“The Sloan fellowship is one of the most prestigious fellowships for young scientists.  I am so very delighted that Jon Froehlich and Tom Goldstein have won this very prestigious fellowship.  This is the first time in the history of our computer science department that we have had two awardees in one year. Both professors represent very different viewpoints and fields in computer science—and this shows the breadth and excellence of computing at the University of Maryland.  Jon and Tom have made all of us proud and they underscore the exciting research and happenings in Computer Science here at the University of Maryland,”  said Samir Khuller, The Elizabeth Stevinson Iribe Chair of Computer Science.

Both Froehlich and Goldstein agreed to talk about their research and teaching and some of the work they plan to do with the award that Sloan Foundation provides.

Listen to an audio interview with Jon Froehlich

Listen to an audio interview with Tom Goldstein