A mathematician working in the life sciences and an astrophysicist studying dark matter from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis are among the recent cohort awarded Chancellor’s Fellowships for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The fellowships recognize exceptional contributions in supporting, tutoring, mentoring and advising underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities. In letters to the recipients, Chancellor May cited their “commitment to reducing opportunity gaps.”

Associate Professor Rishidev Chaudhuri’s research sits in the nexus of mathematics, physics and neuroscience. Chaudhuri studies processing strategies in the brain using mathematics and physics. One direction of his research concerns the neural underpinnings of decision-making, an avenue of research that’s making neuroscientists rethink longstanding narratives about how the brain functions.