Michael Levin was among the 118 chosen for the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship program. He was recognized for his work in Condensed Matter Theory.

Levin received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 2001. After receiving his PhD from MIT, Dr. Levin became a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows. Previously, he received the Andrew M. Lockett Award for MIT doctoral theoretical physics research and the MIT Presidential Compton Fellowship. He joined our faculty as an Assistant Professor in the condensed matter theory group in the summer of 2010 coming directly from Harvard Junior Fellowship.

In his short career, Dr. Levin is already an accomplished theorist. The Levin-Wen model, which bears his name, is an extremely well-known model in the subject of topological matter, a hot topic in condensed matter physics and quantum computing. Additionally, he has produced four, other, highly recognized works: (1) the topological quantum entanglement work that has introduced a new definition of entanglement entropy; (2) the introduction of a new state (anti-Pfaffian) into the fractional quantum Hall systems, which is a possible non-Abelian quantum phase of matter with universal critical properties; (3) a possible model for understanding interaction effects in topological insulator systems; (4) recent work on the Casimir effect.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards fellowships to early-career scientists and scholars in recognition of achievement and the potential to contribute substantially to their fields.

For a complete list of winners, visit: www.sloan.org/fellowships/page/21