Institute Scholars Chibueze Amanchukwu, an assistant professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and Shaoda Wang, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, were among 126 early-career researchers from across the United States and Canada—eight of whom are from the University of Chicago—to be named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow. Awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Sloan Research Fellowship recognizes outstanding early-career researchers whose work demonstrates exceptional creativity and promise. Fellows receive a two-year, $75,000 grant to advance their innovative research.
Chibueze Amanchukwu
Chibueze Amanchukwu, a scholar with the Energy Technologies Initiative, works to address a critical challenge in the clean energy transition: how electrolytes—the substances that allow electrical charge to flow in batteries—control chemical reactions during energy storage and conversion. His lab has pioneered a novel “carbon and salt” battery that is earth abundant, safer and can be cheaper than current lithium-ion batteries.
With the Sloan Fellowship, he plans to focus on understanding the electrode/electrolyte interface by developing sensing technologies that are stable and yield high resolution. Developing sensors for batteries could give researchers new insight into what happens during charging and discharging.
“Developing sensors for electrochemistry will be transformational as it will enable unprecedented access to chemical phenomena, shed light into reaction pathways, and guide novel material design,” says Amanchukwu, the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor.
Amanchukwu, who also holds a joint appointment at Argonne National Laboratory, received his PhD in chemical engineering from MIT and has held postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. His work has earned him recognition as one of MIT Technology Review’s “Innovators Under 35” (2024) and Chemical & Engineering News’ “Talented 12.” He has also received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Research Program award, an Army Research Office Early Career Award, and a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.
Shaoda Wang
Shaoda Wang, who serves as Deputy Faculty Director of the Energy Policy Institute at UChicago’s China team (EPIC China), explores the political economy of environmental regulation to understand how incentives faced by officials and citizens influence regulatory enforcement and environmental quality.
With the Sloan Fellowship, he plans to further advance his research on the role of firms in China’s policymaking process. This includes how firms shape environmental regulations and industrial standards—an important black box whose unraveling is essential to deepening our understanding of the country’s political economy.
“I’m deeply honored to receive the Sloan Research Fellowship,” Wang said. “This support will help advance bold questions about how political institutions influence economic and environmental outcomes, and I hope it will inspire more students to engage with open questions in the Chinese political economy. I’m grateful to my colleagues, collaborators, and students at Harris, EPIC, across the University of Chicago, and beyond for their partnership and support of my work.”
Wang joined the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy after completing his undergraduate studies at Peking University, his doctoral training at UC Berkeley, and a postdoctoral fellowship in UChicago’s Department of Economics and EPIC. He is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.