Five assistant professors at the University of California, Irvine will receive $50,000 Hellman Fellowships, which are bestowed annually to support research by junior faculty. They join an elite group of 58 UCI Hellman Fellows since 2013, when the Hellman Fellows Fund established the program here.

The 2019-20 awardees, representing a cross-section of disciplines, are:

• Mohammad Abdolhosseini Qomi, assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering, for his proposal “Resolving CO₂-Rock-Brine Interfacial Reactions to Reduce Uncertainty in Geological Carbon Sequestration Models”;
• Maura Allaire, assistant professor of urban planning & public policy, for her proposal “Reducing Disparity in Disaster Recovery by Modeling Social Vulnerabilities”;
• Scott Atwood, assistant professor of developmental & cell biology, for his proposal “Immune System Suppression of Tumor Growth”;
• Jade Jenkins, assistant professor of education, for her proposal “The Impacts of State Early Childhood Policies on Children With Disabilities”; and
• Samantha Vortherms, assistant professor of political science, for her proposal “Economic Development Strategies and Local Citizenship in China.”

“Each year, UCI advances as an innovative environment for driven, forward-looking research intended to make a positive contribution to the world around us,” said Diane O’Dowd, vice provost for academic personnel and professor of developmental & cell biology. “The 2019-20 Hellman Fellows proudly exemplify some of the most impressive talent within our junior faculty, and we sincerely appreciate the Hellman Fellows Fund for its generosity and strong support.”

Chris and Warren Hellman began providing early-career funding to junior faculty at UC campuses and four private institutions in 1994. Since then, more than 1,500 individuals have been recipients. The grants may be used for such research purposes as equipment, travel, photography and graduate assistants.

-Sheri Ledbetter, UCI