UW News

February 21, 2008

Yoshi Kohno wins Sloan Research Fellowship

UW News

Yoshi Kohno, assistant professor of computer science & engineering, has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship, given each year to outstanding young scientists. The fellowships have been awarded since 1955 and are open to college and university faculty in the United States and Canada.

“The Sloan Research Fellowships support the work of exceptional young researchers early in their academic careers, and often at pivotal stages in their work,” said Paul Joskov, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The $50,000 award is administered over two years by each fellow’s institution. Once chosen, recipients are free to pursue the lines of inquiry that are of most interest to them. A total of 118 fellowships were awarded this year in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics and neuroscience.

Kohno’s research interests are in computer security, electronic privacy and cryptography. Some of his past studies have investigated security concerns related to electronic voting machines and ways to ensure the security of transactions over the Internet. Other research directions include security and privacy of wireless networks, online anonymity and network forensics. Kohno earned his doctorate at the University of California, San Diego and has been at the UW since 2006.

“It’s an honor to be included among such a distinguished group of researchers,” Kohno said.

In the years the foundation has been awarding fellowships, 34 Sloan fellows have gone on to win Nobel Prizes. Hundreds have received other prestigious awards and honors. Candidates for the fellowships are nominated by department chairs and other senior scholars familiar with their talents.