UGA's Dorsey selected to receive Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship

University of Georgia faculty member Alan T. Dorsey is one of eight 2024 Simons Foundation Pivot Fellows. The program supports researchers who have a strong track record of success and achievement in their current field, as well as a deep interest, curiosity and drive to make contributions to a new discipline.

Professor of physics in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Dorsey serves as associate chief information officer for research computing. A theoretical condensed matter physicist, his research focuses on understanding the behavior of quantum matter under extreme conditions such as low temperatures and high magnetic fields. He has made significant contributions to the theoretical understanding of magnetic flux phases in superconductors and, more recently, the hydrodynamic modes of supersolid phases of matter.

As a Simons Foundation Pivot Fellow, Dorsey will transition to geophysical fluid dynamics and climate modeling under the mentorship of Brad Marston, a professor of physics at Brown University and director of the Brown Theoretical Physics Center. Dorsey will leverage his expertise in condensed matter physics to explore recently discovered topological features in equatorial planetary waves and to expand this work to include the effects of nonlinearities and stratification on wave propagation. He plans to embed this work in a study of an atmospheric phenomenon called the quasi-biennial oscillation: periodic reversal of zonal east-to-west winds that encircle the planet and act from six to 50 kilometers above Earth’s surface. 

"I was inspired, in part, by a paper published by Marston and his team in Science in 2017, which showed that equatorial waves had a topological classification, similar to 'topological insulators' that are fashionable in my current area of research, condensed matter physics," said Dorsey, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who served as Dean of the Franklin College from 2012 to 2023. "I've had an interest in fluid dynamics for a while, and I also wanted an explicit connection to an atmospheric phenomenon."

Launched in 2022, the Pivot Fellowship is open to faculty in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, data science and computer science at academic institutions or equivalent positions elsewhere. The fellowships provide salary support as well as research, travel and professional development funding. Mentors also receive a $50,000 research fund to support training the fellow in their lab. At the end of the fellowship year, fellows will be invited to apply for a 3-year research award in the new field for up to $1.5 million over the three-year period.

"The Simons Fellowship opportunity was exactly what I needed to reboot my research after eleven years as dean," Dorsey said. "I am honored to be selected as a member of the 2024 class of Simons Foundation Pivot Fellows, which will allow me to pivot the direction of my research toward climate science and geophysical fluid dynamics."

Image: Alan T. Dorsey