Professor Thonhauser named Simons Fellow

Timo Thonhauser, associate professor of physics, has been named a 2016 Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics. Thonhauser is one of 14 university professors named by the Simons Foundation Division for Mathematics and the Physical Sciences for the fellows program that provides funds to faculty for up to a semester long research leave from classroom teaching and administrative obligations. The Simons Foundation was established by billionaire James H. Simons, a mathematician and philanthropist, to support distinguished scientists.

The announcement of this year's fellowship recipients appeared in the March 22 "Science Times" section of the New York Times. Other recipients represent Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, UC Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania, among others. The complete list of fellows can be found on the Simons Foundation website.

Thonhauser is a condensed matter theorist whose research focuses on using condensed matter theory to solve currently outstanding problems in physics, biophysics, chemistry and materials science, with applications to nano-, bio-, and energy-related materials.

Combined with a sabbatical from the University, Thonhauser will be on research leave for the 2016/2017 academic year. Thonhauser is planning to spend time at MIT to work on better understanding fundamental interactions in materials from a theoretical perspective. "With this newly gained understanding and insight, we hope to improve all kinds of materials for challenges and demands of novel devices in the 21st century — ranging from cell-phones and computers to energy production and storage."