Sloan Research Fellowships, which have been awarded since 1953, were given to two U of I faculty members for 2010.

Yann R. Chemla, a professor of physics, and Karrie Karahalios, a professor of computer science, are the proud recipients.

The two-year, $50,000 awards were given to 118 early career scientists and researchers to enable them to pursue their choice of research topics and to help fund their research.

The focal point for Chemla’s research is molecular motors. Molecular motors are biological molecular machines which can be more energy-efficient than man-made motors, and can carry out specialized tasks within the cell, such as gene replication or cellular transport. Chemla uses biophysical techniques to study how molecular machines convert chemical energy into mechanical work.

Karahalios works with interpersonal interaction in networked environments. She uses perceived social cues in networked electronic spaces to create communication channels. By incorporating those cues into physical and virtual interfaces, Karahalios hopes to make technology-mediated interaction more instinctive.