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Simons Emmy Noether Fellowship Program

Emmy Noether was a brilliant scientist whose work underpins much of modern physics.

The Simons Emmy Noether Fellows Program, awarded annually and supported by the Simons Foundation, honours her legacy by supporting and encouraging early- and mid-career women and all under-represented groups in physics.

These fellowships enable visiting scientists to spend up to a year in Perimeter’s thriving, multi-disciplinary community. The scientists gain a unique opportunity to pursue their work intensively, free of teaching and administrative duties, and develop new international peer networks.

Flexibility is a key feature of the program, and one that helps to mitigate barriers faced by under-represented groups. Perimeter works with fellows to tailor their stays, which may include teaching buyouts with their home institutions, nearby accommodation, and childcare if required.

The program is having a remarkable impact, demonstrated by a number of publications, successful grant applications, public lectures, and ongoing collaborations that have been fostered and supported.

Sumati Surya — Emmy Noether Visiting Fellow

“The Simons Emmy Noether Fellows Program made it possible to move our family halfway across the globe for a year, which is no mean feat,” says Sumati Surya, a 2016–17 Emmy Noether Fellow and associate professor at India’s Raman Research Institute. “This experience has injected great energy and inspiration for my research, which is invaluable.” – Sumati Surya

"The Simons Emmy Noether Fellowship dramatically changed the way I devise research for the future. The program is designed to boost research in physics by placing new fellows in an environment of intellectual elite and dynamic collaboration which, at the same time, takes care of the individual by helping with domestic issues and welcoming children and family. The initiative is flexible in form, deep in purpose." – Paula Mellado

"Of course, the most important aspect is that some of the best people in our field are at Perimeter. . . . Having these three months away from my home institute and temporarily away from many daily routines also helped refresh my mind. There was a long-term problem that I was in the process of solving step-by-step, on which I have already spent more than two years and was planning to spend another two years. But while at Perimeter, during the discussion with another visitor (Masahito Yamazaki), we solved this problem using a different method." – Wei Li

Meet the Emmy Noether researchers

Previous Emmy Noether fellows have come from around the world in a variety of subdisciplines. Expand the lists below to read about the fellows. Refer to our Visitors page for the most up-to-date information.

  • Céline Boehm, cosmology, particle physics and astrophysics, Durham University
  • Radja Boughezal, particle physics, Argonne National Laboratory
  • Fiona Burnell, condensed matter, University of Minnesota
  • Olalla Castro Alvaredo, quantum field theory, City University of London
  • Alejandra Castro, quantum gravity, University of Amsterdam
  • Cecilia Chirenti, strong gravity, Universidade Federal do ABC in Brazil
  • Gemma De las Cuevas, quantum information and condensed matter, University of Innsbruck
  • Orit Davidovich, mathematics, Northwestern University
  • Emanuela Dimastrogiovanni, cosmology, Case Western Reserve University
  • Barbara Drossel, condensed matter, Technische Universitat Darmstadt
  • Astrid Eichhorn, quantum gravity, University of Southern Denmark
  • Valentina Forini, City, University of London
  • Ling-Yan Hung, Fudan University - Physics Department
  • Karen Livesey, University of Newcastle
  • Katherine (Katie) Mack, astroparticle physicist, North Carolina State University
  • Paula Mellado, condensed matter, Adolfo Ibáñez University
  • Catherine Meusburger, quantum gravity, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Monika Mościbrodzka, black holes, strong gravity, Department of Astrophysics at Radboud University (visit postponed)
  • Christine Muschik, quantum information, University of Waterloo - Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC)
  • Belén Paredes, condensed matter, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich
  • Sara Pasquetti, interface of mathematics and physics, University of Surrey
  • Sylvie Paycha, mathematics, physics, Department of Mathematics at the University of Potsdam
  • Catherine Pépin, condensed matter, Institut de Physique Théorique - CEA-Saclay
  • Natalia Perkins, quantum matter, University of Minnesota - School of Physics & Astronomy
  • Katarzyna Rejzner, mathematical physics, University of York
  • Claudia de Rham, cosmology, Imperial College, London
  • Rachel Rosen, quantum field theory, Columbia University
  • Mairi Sakellariadou, cosmology, King’s College London
  • Didina Serban, quantum fields and strings, Institut de Physique Théorique - CEA Saclay
  • Phiala Shanahan, particle physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Physics
  • Sarah Shandera, cosmology, Penn State
  • Sumati Surya, quantum gravity,Raman Research Institute
  • Sherry Suyu, cosmology, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA)
  • Silke Weinfurtner, quantum gravity, Quantum Gravity Laboratory, University of Nottingham
  • Yaping Yang, integrable systems, University of Melbourne Yaping Yang
  • Bei Zeng, quantum entanglement and quantum information, University of Guelph

Emmy Noether Fellows are supported by the Simons Foundation.

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