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Newswise STONY BROOK, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2015 Lukasz Fidkowski, PhD, an assistant professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, has been selected to receive a 2015 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He is one of 126 awardees from 61 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada chosen for this prestigious honor, which comes with a $50,000 two-year fellowship to further his research.

Fidkowski was selected for his research in theoretical condensed matter physics. In particular, he developed a classification of topological phases in one dimension, he carried out a calculation of the entanglement spectrum of topological insulators and superconductors, and he suggested the existence of the Majorana zero modes in one-dimensional quantum wires.

His discoveries extend and deepen our current understanding of the ordered states of matter and help uncover new properties of matter. Some of these properties may have useful applications, such as encoding quantum information, making it possible to use them as the building blocks of a quantum computer.

"As Provost, it makes me proud that Stony Brook University was able to attract such a remarkable junior faculty member such as Dr. Lukasz Fidkowski," said Dennis N. Assanis, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for Stony Brook University. "His groundbreaking work in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics makes him well-deserving of the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship, as well as a valuable addition to the distinguished faculty within our department of Physics and Astronomy."

Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars and the next generation of scientific leaders. Since the programs inception, the Sloan Foundation has awarded nearly $120 million in support of more than 4,200 early-career researchers; 66 of whom have been from Stony Brook University.

Being selected for a Sloan Research Fellowship is an honor and a milestone in my career, said Dr. Fidkowski. This fellowship will help advance my research, and, in doing so, will advance the field of physics.

"Stony Brook is proud of the fundamental research by innovative faculty like Lukasz Fidkowski," says Sacha Kopp, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, "We are grateful for the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and hope his work will serve as an inspiration for others."

"Dr. Fidkowskis research field experienced a major expansion recently, said Laszlo Milhaly, Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy who nominated Dr. Fidkowski for the Sloan Research Fellowship. It was recognized, both theoretically and experimentally, that new phases of materials exist that cannot be classified within the well-established theory of symmetry-breaking phase transitions that works very well for a large range of phenomena, like the freezing of water to ice or the development of magnetic order. Examples for these new phases include fractional quantum Hall insulators and topological insulators and superconductors with symmetry-protected edge and surface states."

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Stony Brook Physics Professor Awarded Sloan Research Fellowship