CyLab’s Aayush Jain and Aditi Raghunathan receive the 2026 Sloan Research Fellowship

CyLab’s Aayush Jain and Aditi Raghunathan are two of five Carnegie Mellon University recipients of the 2026 Sloan Research Fellowship.

Jain and Raghunathan, along with CMU computer scientist Jun-Yan Zhu and mathematicians Christopher Eur and Arun Kumar Kuchibhotla, are among 126 outstanding North American researchers honored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The fellowships, awarded annually since 1955, honor early career scholars whose achievements put them among the very best scientific minds working today. Winners receive a two-year, $75,000 fellowship to further their research.

“The Sloan Research Fellows are among the most promising early-career researchers in the U.S. and Canada, already driving meaningful progress in their respective disciplines,” said Stacie Bloom, president and chief executive officer of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We look forward to seeing how these exceptional scholars continue to unlock new scientific advancements, redefine their fields, and foster the well-being and knowledge of all.”

A Sloan Research Fellowship is one of the most prestigious awards available to young researchers, in part because so many past Fellows have gone on to become distinguished figures in science. To date, 59 Fellows have received a Nobel Prize, including John Clarke, last year’s Nobel laureate in physics. In addition, 72 Fellows have won the National Medal of Science, 17 have won the Fields Medal in mathematics, and 25 have won the John Bates Clark Medal in economics, including every winner since 2009. A database of current and former Sloan Research Fellows can be found here.

Aayush Jain, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department (CSD), studies theoretical and applied cryptography and its connections with related areas of theoretical computer science. His research investigates the mathematical foundations that make modern cryptography secure, with a focus on identifying new and underexplored sources of computational hardness. Jain aims to strengthen the long-term security of encrypted computation and address critical gaps in post-quantum cryptography. He also trains graduate students in foundational cryptographic theory.

Aditi Raghunathan is an assistant professor in CSD and with affiliations in the Machine Learning Department (MLD) and Language Technologies Institute. Her research focuses on identifying where and understanding why AI systems fail, and building models that remain safe, accurate and dependable in real-world settings. Raghunathan's work helps ensure that advanced AI can be trusted by identifying hidden weaknesses in how systems are trained and tested. She leads the AI Reliability Lab, which builds reliable, aligned and trustworthy AI through rigorous analysis and principled methods. Raghunathan's work has earned awards at prestigious conferences and continues to help shed light on responsible AI system design and deployment.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven grantmaking institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. Founded in 1934 by industrialist Alfred P. Sloan Jr., the Foundation disburses approximately $80 million in grants each year in four broad areas: direct support of research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics; initiatives to increase access and opportunity in graduate science education; projects to develop or leverage technology to empower research; and efforts to enhance and deepen public engagement with science and scientists.