Two University of Washington alumna have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows are Dr. Annie Bauer (UW B.S. 2011), an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Tara Smiley (UW B.S. 2007), an assistant professor at Stony Brook University. Bauer and Smiley are two of 126 researchers selected this year. Recipients receive $75,000, which can be used to advance their research.

Annie M. Bauer

Annie Bauer

Assistant professor of geoscience

Bauer’s research group is pursuing student-led projects focused on disentangling primary geochemical and radiogenic isotope signatures from the sparse record of ancient rocks and minerals to refine our understanding of the evolution of plate tectonics and atmospheric oxygen levels on Earth. Ultimately, this research will provide key context for the role of the Earth in supporting the origination, diversification, and success of life. 

“My research group is pushing forward projects rooted in atmospheric and crustal evolution, which are topics that were first introduced to me by several UW ESS faculty and former PhD students, including Bruce Nelson, John Stone, Eric Cheney, Eva Stuëken and Theresa Kayzar. The wealth of opportunities I had as a UW ESS undergraduate were a crucial springboard for helping me develop my trajectory as a researcher,” said Bauer reflecting on her time in ESS. “I am lucky to work with a talented group of students and collaborators, and I am so grateful to them, my mentors, and my Sloan Fellowship nominators for this honor.”

Bauer was the inaugural UW ESS Emerging Leader Award recipient in 2025. Read the award citation here.

Tara Smiley

Assistant professor of evolutionary ecology

Using field, museum, modeling, and multi-proxy analytical approaches, Smiley’s research group seeks to address long-standing questions about the role of landscape dynamics and climate change in shaping mammalian evolution and biodiversity gradients today and in the fossil record of the Neogene. This research unfolds across spatio-temporal scales in both western North America and eastern Africa and exists in a highly collaborative framework, integrating research from evolution, paleoecology, geophysics, geomorphology, and climate science.

Read the full Stony Brook University announcement here.

“My research program is deeply rooted in the interdisciplinary training I received at UW, both in ESS and Biology. I’m ever grateful for the long-standing impact of many excellent professors and mentors at UW, most notably Drs. Bruce Nelson, Liz Nesbitt, and Christian Sidor, whose labs fostered my early research growth and independence!” said Smiley reflecting on her time at UW. “I’m thrilled to receive this recognition, which would not have been possible without the mentors, collaborators, and students who have contributed to and elevated this work, as well as my nominator and letter writers for their support!”

Sloan Fellows are selected by researchers and faculty in the scientific community. Candidates are nominated by their peers, and fellows are selected by independent panels of senior scholars based on each candidate’s research accomplishments, creativity and potential to become a leader in their field. This year’s fellows come from 44 institutions across the United States and Canada.