Evelyn Tang

Evelyn Tang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University, where she joined in 2021. Her research focuses on theoretical physics applied to living and active matter, exploring how robust dynamics emerge from stochastic and heterogeneous components. She has held prior positions as a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and as an Africk Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Education:

• PhD in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015)
• MPhil in Physics, University of Cambridge (2008)
• BS in Physics, Yale University (2007)

Research Interests: Tang’s work integrates statistical mechanics, topology, and information theory to study emergent phenomena in biological and out-of-equilibrium systems. She investigates topics such as topological protection of long-timescale dynamics (e.g., circadian rhythms), nonreciprocal systems, and robust oscillations in biological networks. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges theoretical biology, condensed matter physics, and computational neuroscience.

Awards:

• NSF CAREER Award
• IUPAP Interdisciplinary Early Career Scientist Prize
• Scialog Award
• Simons-Berkeley Research Fellowship
• Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Advising & Grants: Supported by funding from the NSF, Kavli Foundation, and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative. Her lab actively seeks students and postdocs to explore theoretical frameworks for understanding biological systems and stochastic topological systems.

Labs/Teams: The Evelyn Tang Group develops physical theories for emergent phenomena in biological and out-of-equilibrium systems, emphasizing topology’s role in robust dynamics across scales—from quantum to biological contexts.