Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) has named University of Utah’s Yao-Yuan Mao a recipient of a 2026 Cottrell Scholar Award.

One of 24 early career scholars in chemistry, physics and astronomy, the assistant professor in the U’s Department of Physics and Astronomy was chosen through a rigorous peer-review process of applications from public and private research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions in the United States and Canada.

Recipients each receive $120,000 to further their work in the physical sciences and adjacent fields as well as in science education.

Low-mass galaxies

In announcing the awards President & CEO of RCSA Eric Issacs referred to Mao with the other recipients as “[a]n exceptional cohort of teacher‑scholars whose innovative work fuels discovery across the physical sciences. Their insights and energy will strengthen a 600-member network of researchers, leaders, and mentors dedicated to pushing the boundaries of knowledge while shaping the future of science and science teaching in the United States and Canada.”

Significantly, the 2026 class of awardees arrived as faculty just as their institutions were emerging from the pandemic while, at the same time, facing an “uncertain academic landscape shaped by shifting federal funding and graduate enrollment,” according to RCSA Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “Becoming part of this vibrant community will give them a space to talk openly about how to succeed, learn from colleagues at every stage of their careers, and contribute their own ideas to strengthening the future of academic science.” 

As an astrophysicist who studies low-mass galaxies, Mao’s research focuses on developing advanced algorithms to search for these faint objects and to distinguish them from more massive galaxies in the background. The Cottrell Scholar Award is timely for Mao as the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, which just started its operation, will provide “an unprecedentedly large and deep view of the cosmos” and increase the number of known low-mass galaxies by a hundred-fold over the coming years. “By conducting a census of these hidden neighbors, this work will enable us to understand galaxy formation at the smallest scales and probe the fundamental nature of dark matter,” said Mao.

The Cottrell Scholar Award is unique in that it recognizes scholar‑educators who contribute significantly to both research and educational advancements. Mao’s educational work for their Cottrell Scholar Award aims to “(re-) humanize the instruction of computing courses by emphasizing high-level skills that cannot easily be replaced by AI,” and promotes “human-centered learning objectives, aligning evaluation methods with students’ intrinsic motivations, and connecting students’ learning with our human experiences.” This work is built upon Mao’s recent effort on observing how students utilize AI tools for computational tasks in the classroom. Mao was recently named a Martha Bradley Evans Teaching Fellow at the U for their effort to address AI’s impact on our education mission. 

Portal to remarkable community

More than a cash award, admittance as a Cottrell Scholar is a portal to a remarkable community—a multigenerational network of teacher-scholars in the physical sciences which also includes senior researchers who receive RCSA’s Robert Holland Jr. Award, as well as Fulbright-Cottrell Scholars from Germany. Mao and the rest of their cohort are now eligible to participate in conferences and may collaborate on RCSA-funded team projects through the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative. Mao has also participated as Fellows in RCSA’s Scialog initiatives.

Since the Cottrell Scholar program was launched in 1994, awardees have been selected from more than 200 institutions in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s awardees represent 23 different institutions in 14 different states and Canada. The U has earlier secured several Cottrell Scholars most recently including chemist Jessica Swanson in 2024. Two of Mao’s colleagues in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Jordan Gerton and Gail Zasowski, were named Cottrell Scholars in 2007 and 2021, respectively. 

 “I am grateful for this recognition. In addition to the support that will help me further my research and educational goals, I am very excited about the prospect of joining the Cottrell Scholar community. It will be a valuable network for exchanging ideas on cross-discipline research and on how to best support students in their education and wellbeing,” said Mao.  

 "This is a tremendous honor for Professor Yao-Yuan Mao and for our department. The Cottrell Scholar designation recognizes rising leaders in science, and we are thrilled to see Yao receive this well-deserved recognition," commented Carston Rott, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.