Chemical engineering professor Tyler Josephson chosen as Simons Foundation Pivot Fellow
Tyler Josephson, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering, was selected as a 2025 Pivot Fellow by the Simons Foundation. The fellowships support top researchers as they pivot to making contributions to a new discipline.
At UMBC, Josephson leads the AI & Theory-Oriented Molecular Science Lab, which develops computational methods to simulate the behavior of molecules and, potentially, to automate the discovery of new scientific theories. His current research includes National Science Foundation-funded projects to digitize chemical theories using a programming language developed by researchers at Microsoft called the Lean theorem prover and a DARPA-funded project to develop AI tools that can check the feasibility of scientific claims.
During his Pivot fellowship, Josephson will join the research group of Jeremy Avigad, a professor of philosophy, computer science, and mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he’ll study advanced topics at the intersection of formal mathematics and computer science. He plans to formalize statistical thermodynamics derivations in Lean, develop computational workflows for auto-formalizing science using AI, and build molecular simulation software integrated with formal proofs of mathematical correctness.
Tyler Josephson (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
The skills, knowledge, and connections Josephson develops will strengthen his ongoing work with his UMBC students and colleagues.
“As an engineer, I didn’t formally study these topics in school. I’m really excited by the opportunity to dive deeper and learn new things,” he says.
Posted: November 25, 2025, 2:24 PM