Paul Fran莽ois

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy, very delighted, very honored 鈥� and very humbled,鈥� says , a relative 黑料网爆吃瓜 newbie who joined the Department of Physics as an Assistant Professor in 2010. 鈥淏eing recognized for your work when you鈥檙e an early scientist is tremendous, and this award also shows support for biophysics in 黑料网爆吃瓜 in general. This is a booming interdisciplinary field, and I am convinced that many progresses, both in fundamental science and for future biomedical applications, will come from interactions between mathematics and physics on the one hand, and biology and medicine on the other hand. We can now consider and observe a cell as a controllable dynamical systems, and this is where physics is very powerful, to identify simple laws and principles.鈥�

Fran莽ois completed his PhD at the 脡cole Normale Sup茅rieure (Universit茅 Paris VII) in 2005, then did a postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University. His primary area of research is evolutionary systems biology, a new field that combines physics, biology and computer science. Fran莽ois uses computational and mathematical tools to model and understand how biological networks 鈥� such as our immunity systems, or the cells coordinating embryonic growth 鈥� evolve.

The Outstanding Emerging Researchers prize was created by the Office of Research and International Relations. Dr. Rose Goldstein, Vice-Principal (RIR), praises the caliber and impact of Professor Fran莽ois鈥� work in this emerging field, noting that his use of cutting-edge computation technology is 鈥渟ignificantly advancing our understanding of the way immune cells work, providing invaluable insight into how immune diseases develop.鈥�

Fran莽ois will soon be eligible for tenure, so this appreciation comes at a particularly good time. 鈥淓arly-career recognition is something that, more and more, people are beginning to realize is important 鈥� at 黑料网爆吃瓜 and elsewhere 鈥� because our fields are so competitive, especially when you鈥檙e just starting,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom a very practical and basic standpoint, an award like this helps me when I apply for grants because it shows recognition and support from my university. It鈥檚 a little kick. And it builds confidence.鈥�

Joelle Pineau

鈥淚鈥檓 pushing the limit of 鈥榚arly career,鈥欌�� laughs , an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science, who joined 黑料网爆吃瓜 shortly after receiving her PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. 鈥淏ut the quality of researchers we have at 黑料网爆吃瓜 is fantastic, so to be chosen like this is special.鈥�

Pineau鈥檚 research combines basic mathematics with medical robotics to create real-world results with high social impact. As the co-director of the Reasoning and Learning Lab, much of her work focuses on developing decision-making and learning algorithms, then applying them to complex problems in robotics and health-care, such as designing 鈥渟mart鈥� wheelchairs that can learn how to navigate unfamiliar terrains and understand spoken commands.

Pineau鈥檚 work may be heavy on theoretical math, notes Rose Goldstein, but it is also firmly grounded in improving people鈥檚 quality of life: 鈥淔or the care of patients who lack the physical or cognitive abilities to operate conventional motorized wheelchairs, such technology is a 鈥榞ame-changer.鈥欌��

Pineau is having a particularly good year, having also received a Tomlinson Scientist Award, which recognizes interdisciplinary collaboration, and being named a William Dawson Scholar. Much of her research over the past decade has been interdisciplinary 鈥� such as a wide-ranging collaboration with the multi-university Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal to explore issues of social inclusion and participation for people with physical disabilities鈥攚hich by its very nature entails taking time to establish partnerships, recruit students and acquire funding. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e ambitious projects that take time to build up the right knowledge and infrastructure,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 feel like it is many efforts coming to fruition, and these projects are now reaching a stage of maturity where they鈥檙e having impact and getting noticed. It鈥檚 exciting and satisfying.鈥�

Andrew Piper

鈥淧ost-tenure is a very distinct and in many ways challenging career phase,鈥� notes . The Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar joined 黑料网爆吃瓜 in 2005, and received tenure in 2012. 鈥淐learing that challenging bar of getting tenure brings a lot of introspection 鈥� there are a lot of studies that show this, and I鈥檓 certainly not immune to it myself. What happens is you end up with a lot of professional responsibilities 鈥� promotion commitments, reviewing manuscripts for presses 鈥� that tend to be lower on the satisfaction scale. We call it service work, and it really eats into time for teaching and researching. That space for thinking and creativity tends to get eroded and people go through a period of learning to balance that.

鈥淎n award like this bolsters satisfaction at a key moment: It鈥檚 helpful to hear 鈥榊ou鈥檙e on an important track, keep going鈥� at this point in my career.鈥�

A former Andrew W. Mellon New Directions Fellow and the current director of .txtLAB, a digital humanities laboratory at 黑料网爆吃瓜, Piper explores the intersection of literature and technologies of reading, past and present. In praising Piper鈥檚 avant-garde work, Rose Goldstein cites how he is using new computational methods to develop a data-driven, revolutionary approach to how we think about art forms such as the novel 鈥� essentially using technology to uncover patterns and insights hereto hidden. At the same time, she says, he鈥檚 also a global thought-leader who is 鈥渕aking an outstanding contribution to larger debates about data-mining and the place of information technology within society.鈥�

鈥満诹贤�爆吃瓜 has a very large and talented faculty, across the disciplines,鈥� says Piper, 鈥渟o to be chosen for this recognition is special, and a real compliment.鈥�

*The profiles on this page were written in 2015.