Correa-Baena is an assistant professor and Goizueta Early Career Faculty Chair in the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). His research focuses on understanding and controlling nanoscale chemical structures in low-cost semiconductors used for optical and electronic applications. His team also works on advanced techniques for characterizing these very small materials and interactions. The Sloan Fellowship will help him study chemical interactions in solar energy harvesting, particularly how hydrogen bonding stabilizes crystalline structures.

Correa-Baena called his selection an important career milestone and credited his students as a driving force behind the honor.

“This is a testament to the work of my students, who strive to think beyond the limits of our field. We are truly an interdisciplinary group that wants to blur the lines between science and engineering, and this award recognizes exactly that,” Correa-Baena said. “The fellowship is for the chemistry field, and as a materials scientist, I am honored to be included in the list of this year’s recipients.”

In addition of chemistry, the two-year fellowships are awarded in computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Fellows receive $75,000 in flexible funding to support their research and access to the network of current and previous fellows. Correa-Baena joins three other Georgia Tech faculty members in the 2024 class of Sloan Fellows: Alex Blumenthal in the School of Mathematics, Chunhui Du in the School of Physics, and Daniel Genkin in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy.