On February 19, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) alumna Sharon Yixuan Li was named a recipient of the 2025 Sloan Research Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This year, 126 early-career scientists across seven major disciplines were recognized, including 28 scholars of Chinese descent.
Alumna Profile
Sharon Yixuan Li: Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison; B.S. in Information Engineering, Class of 2013, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Sharon Li’s research focuses on algorithms and theoretical foundations for out-of-distribution (OOD) detection, AI safety and alignment, and open-world machine learning. Her work aims to enable AI systems to make reliable decisions in unfamiliar environments.
OOD allows AI models to identify “unknown” inputs they have not encountered before, thereby avoiding potentially risky decisions in different scenarios. Li developed the first OOD detection algorithm for deep neural networks—a technique now widely applied in fields such as autonomous driving and healthcare—and has significantly advanced the safety and reliability of AI in complex environments. Her work later inspired Google to establish a dedicated team to integrate OOD detection into its products.
Currently, her research team focuses on building trustworthy frontier models, such as large language models (LLMs) and multimodal models, aiming to deeply understand how they work, when they fail, and how to better align them with human commands and values.
In 2022, her theoretical work on OOD detection was selected as an Outstanding Paper at NeurIPS, one of the most prestigious conferences in AI, out of more than 10,000 submissions. In 2023, she was named to the MIT Technology Review’s Global “35 Innovators Under 35” list.
About the Award
First awarded in 1955, the Sloan Research Fellowship is granted every year by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to recognize outstanding early-career researchers in the United States and Canada who demonstrate exceptional creativity and excellence in research. Each fellow receives $75,000 in flexible funding over two years to support their research.
Often regarded as a predictor of future accolades, the fellowship has an impressive track record: as of February 2025, 58 Sloan Fellows have gone on to win Nobel Prizes, 17 have received the Fields Medal, and 72 have been awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science.
