Yun Chen, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received the National Institutes of Health’s Trailblazer Award, which recognizes innovative early-career researchers tackling high-risk, potentially high-impact projects. Chen will use the award to develop a tension-sensitive drug release system that targets only diseased cells, a process that promises to enhance the efficacy of treatments for diseases including cancer, kidney disease, and dementia.

Ryan Huang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Early CAREER Award, which recognizes early-stage scholars with high levels of promise and excellence. Huang’s award will support his project, “Towards Gray-Fault Tolerant Cloud through Harnessing and Enhancing System Observability,” which aims to improve the availability of modern cloud system infrastructure.