The School of Engineering and Applied Science has recognized six assistant professors for outstanding teaching and research. Each recipient of the 2026 junior faculty awards will receive $50,000 to support their work. E. Lawrence Keyes, Jr./Emerson Electric Co. Faculty Advancement Award Ryne Beeson Ryne Beeson, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, focuses on applied and computational mathematics with an emphasis on data assimilation, optimal control, and dynamical systems. He applies these techniques to spacecraft trajectory control and optimization, space situational and domain awareness, and estimation and inverse methods for earth and space science. His recent contributions include the development of robust low-thrust trajectories for long-duration space missions, and the mitigation of lunar orbital debris. Michael Mueller, acting chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said Beeson has recently published “a seminal paper outlining existing policies, which are very few, and the policy needs to address the dynamics of the Earth-Moon system and ensure safe travel and lunar proximity operations.” Beeson has also made important contributions in teaching, including revitalizing the department’s capstone space systems design course. He is leading the engineering school’s new Space Engineering, Technology, and Policy Cluster of Excellence. Beeson earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined Princeton in 2021. Alex Lombardi An assistant professor of computer science, Alex Lombardi focuses on the theory and foundations of classical and quantum cryptography. Cryptography and codebreaking were foundational to computer science and predate the founding of the discipline. Lombardi’s work focuses on a relatively new frontier in cryptography — how quantum computers change cryptographic capabilities. Lombardi is developing approaches to post-quantum computing to ensure security, primarily by providing proofs of identity and validity, rather than encoding messages and data. Szymon Rusinkiewicz, chair of computer science, said Lombardi “offers truly unique, complementary, and invaluable expertise in