The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced on February 15, the selection of 126 outstanding researchers drawn from 51 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada as recipients of the distinguished Sloan Research Fellowships for 2012. One recipient was Professor Jinbo Xu, a graduate student of ICT Chief Engineer Xu Zhiwei completing his studies in 1996.Professor Xu is now doing research in computational molecular biology in Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago.  

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grant making institution based in New York City, established in 1934 and makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance. Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars in recognition of achievement and the potential to contribute substantially to their fields. Potential fellows must be nominated for recognition by their peers and are subsequently selected by an independent panel of senior scholars.

In the Press Release, Dr. Paul L. Joskow, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation states, "Today's Sloan Research Fellows are tomorrow's Nobel Prize winners. These outstanding men and women are responsible for some of the most exciting science being done today. The Foundation is proud to support them during this pivotal stage of their careers."

The $50,000 fellowships are awarded in chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, evolutionary and computational molecular biology, neuroscience, and physics.

Professor Jinbo Xu also won prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant. The grant is awarded by the National Science Foundation to support junior faculty in their research and educational activities. Professor Xu's project focuses on the Exact and Approximate Algorithms for 3D Structure Modeling of Protein-Protein Interactions.