Stony Brook University Assistant Professor Tara Smiley Named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow

Fellowship Honors Exceptional Early-Career Researchers

STONY BROOK, NY- February 17, 2026-The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) Department of Ecology & Evolution in the College of Arts & Sciences and Turkana Basin Institute Assistant Professor Tara Smiley was named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow. This fellowship honors exceptional early-career researchers at United States and Canadian educational institutions, whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders. 126 researchers were selected this year.

Professor Smiley is an evolutionary ecologist who studies how climate and landscape history shape the diversity, biogeography, and ecological structure of mammalian faunas across spatio-temporal scales. By testing hypotheses, she looks to see how changes in climate, tectonic activity, topographic complexity, and habitat heterogeneity impact communities and ecological processes at local scales and govern diversity at regional scales.

Smiley's research group integrates fieldwork, specimen-based research, and quantitative paleobiology. Primary tools of the group's research include stable isotope ecology and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, analysis of trait variation, diversification analysis and coupling of geological and biological modeling approaches. They have worked in western North America and in the East African Rift, which are both considered tectonically active and dynamic landscapes with high species richness today and in the past. Along with collaborators at the Turkana Basin Institute (a Stony Brook University Center), the team is actively developing projects in the fossil-rich setting of the Turkana Basin in Kenya.

"The Sloan Research Fellows are among the most promising early-career researchers in the U.S. and Canada, already driving meaningful progress in their respective disciplines," says Stacie Bloom, president and chief executive officer of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "We look forward to seeing how these exceptional scholars continue to unlock new scientific advancements, redefine their fields, and foster the wellbeing and knowledge of all."

"We're thrilled to see Tara Smiley recognized as a Sloan Research Fellow," said the chair of the Department of Ecology & Evolution and associate professor Joshua S. Rest. "Her research asks a deceptively simple question: how have Earth's changing landscapes helped shape the tree of life? She connects Earth history to biodiversity by integrating fossils, modern ecosystems, and quantitative modeling. In an era of rapid global change, that kind of boundary-crossing work is essential for understanding how life responds to environmental change."

Sloan Research Fellows are awarded a flexible two-year fellowship of $75,000 to support and advance their research.

Professor Smiley, who oversees the Smiley Lab at the Department of Ecology & Evolution at Stony Brook University, earned her PhD from the University of Michigan. Before joining Stony Brook University, Smiley was a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University and Indiana University. Starting as assistant professor in 2020, Smiley has also received funding from the National Science Foundation, including a recent Faculty Early CAREER grant. She currently teaches upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses and has contributed to dozens of interdisciplinary papers centered on organismal response to environmental change across spatial and temporal scales.

# # #

About The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)

The State University of New York at Stony Brook is New York's flagship university and No. 1 public university. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 27,000 students, more than 3,000 faculty members, more than 225,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world's biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #59 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university's distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize, Fields Medal and Breakthrough Prizes in Mathematics and Physics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy - one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $8.93 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/ and X@stonybrooku.