Thirty-four early-career faculty members representing seven divisions of Johns Hopkins University have been selected to receive support for their work from the university’s Catalyst Awards program. Three of them are CS Professors; congratulations to Alexis Battle, Ben Langmead, and Xin Li!

Recipients include faculty composing new musical work inspired by undiscovered islands, studying blindness to better understand human brain plasticity, and simulating the atmospheres of exoplanets to predict their habitability.

Others are investigating treatments and interventions for depression, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, and Alzheimer’s disease. One awardee is developing spray-on photovoltaics for solar energy harvesting, while another is developing an effective communication model to increase the number of students utilizing school-based vision care programs.

These experts represent dozens of fields—including ophthalmology, mental health, chemistry, computer science, management, and composition. Nearly 75 percent are assistant professors, and more than half are women.

“Progress requires our brightest minds to pursue big ideas that extend the horizons of human knowledge,” said Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels. “At a time when research funding is more competitive than ever, Johns Hopkins is thrilled to support these promising faculty as they embarking on novel research and creative projects.”

Catalyst Award recipients from the Whiting School include:

The full list of recipients can be found on the Office of Research website.