2023-24 Vilas Associates announced

By Natasha Kassulke, natasha.kassulke@wisc.edu

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education has announced 23 faculty winners of the Vilas Associates Competition. The competition recognizes “new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance.” Tenure-track assistant professors and tenured faculty within 20 years of their tenure date are eligible.

The award is funded by the William F. Vilas Estate Trust.

The 2023-24 winners and their departments are:

Lianyi Chen, Mechanical Engineering

Jacee Cho, English

Feyza Engin, Biomolecular Chemistry

Corbett Grainger, Agricultural and Applied Economics

Mrinalini Hoon, Opthalmology and Visual Sciences

Kevin Johnson, Medical Physics

Tana Johnson, La Follette School of Public Affairs

Judd Kinzley, History

Ahmed Mahmoud, Cell and Regenerative Biology

Kitty Montgomery, School of Nursing

Kirill Ospovat, German, Nordic and Slavic

Allison Prasch, Communication Arts

Jennifer Schomaker, Chemistry

Xiaoxia Shi, Economics

Saverio Spagnolie, Mathematics

Walter Stern, Educational Policy Studies

Krishnan Suresh, Mechanical Engineering

John Svaren, Comparative Biosciences

Dan Thoma, Materials Science and Engineering

Justin Vandenbroucke, Physics

Haley Vlach, Educational Psychology

Bruno Whittle, Philosophy

Elizabeth Wright, Biochemistry

Recipients are chosen competitively by the divisional research committees on the basis of a detailed proposal. Winners receive up to two-ninths of research salary support (including the associated fringe costs) for the summers of 2023 and 2024, as well as a $12,500 flexible research fund in each of the two fiscal years. Faculty paid on an annual basis are not eligible for the summer salary support but are eligible for the flexible fund portion of this award.