Bryce Cousins, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics, has been awarded the 2026 Jump Fellowship, supported by Jump Trading LLC.
Jump Trading is a Chicago‑based trading firm, founded in 1999 by two Illinois alumni, with a focus on algorithmic and high‑frequency trading strategies. The Jump Fellowship recognizes outstanding doctoral students in the mathematical, computing, and physical sciences whose research demonstrates exceptional originality, rigor, and potential for high impact. The fellowship provides a $50,000 stipend and covers all tuition and fees.
I am very grateful for Jump Trading's endeavors to support student-led research. The freedom to pursue my own scientific directions has been central to my research thus far, so I am particularly excited about the autonomy provided by the fellowship.
–Bryce Cousins
Cousins conducts research in astrophysics and cosmology under the supervision of Professor Nicolás Yunes. A central focus of his work is developing new ways to use gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime produced by massive cosmic events—to study how the universe is expanding. He has led work on a novel approach, known as the “stochastic siren,” that uses the background of unresolved gravitational waves to help measure the universe’s expansion rate. This method offers a new way to investigate the long‑standing “Hubble tension,” a major puzzle in modern cosmology in which different techniques produce conflicting measurements of how fast the universe is growing. Cousins’ past research has examined how future generations of gravitational‑wave detectors could test fundamental assumptions about the large‑scale structure of the universe.
Prior to beginning his Ph.D., Cousins helped develop large‑scale computing systems and real‑time alert infrastructure that support international multi-messenger astronomy collaborations. Cousins’ achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. He is also actively engaged in mentoring, outreach, and scientific leadership at Illinois, including service as an American Physical Society Student Ambassador.
As Ken Vickery, assistant dean for fellowships in the Graduate College, says, “Only eight students nationwide were selected for this fellowship this year, so this is a major honor that Bryce has earned. I congratulate Bryce heartily on the award and on the years of hard work that led to his receiving it.”
For a complete list of this year’s awardees, visit Jump Trading’s fellowship announcement.
For information on the fellowship competition, visit the Jump Trading PhD Fellowship listing in Fellowship Finder.