PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Melody Chan, an assistant professor of mathematics at Brown University, is one of 126 researchers from the U.S. and Canada to receive a research fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for 2018.

The foundation announced on Feb. 15 the winners of the fellowships, which are awarded annually to early-career scientists and scholars identified as the next generation of scientific leaders.

Chan’s research is in the fields of combinatorics and algebraic geometry. Her research develops and uses modern mathematical techniques to study the geometry of solutions to polynomial systems. Recent projects have made advances in the classical study of Brill-Noether theory and moduli spaces of curves.

In addition to her research, Chan serves as faculty advisory for Brown Horizons, a seminar series that addresses issues of gender, racial and sexual inclusivity in STEM fields, provides career advancement and job placement advice to graduate students and promotes the research and work of traditionally underrepresented mathematicians.

“I'm thrilled to receive the Sloan Fellowship and the support and recognition that accompanies it,” Chan said. “It will enable me to pursue my scientific program while simultaneously working to increase the accessibility of mathematics and the mathematical community.”

Chan joined the Brown faculty in 2015. This semester, she received a Henry Merrit Wriston Fellowship to study at MIT. Next semester she’ll be on sabbatical leave at ICERM, Brown’s National Science Foundation-funded math institute.