The Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are awards to recent recipients of doctoral degrees. The fellowship is designed to provide 24 months of support divided into 18 academic months and 3 periods of two summer months. The recipient has the option of a Research Instructorship which allows the 18 months of academic support to be taken as 9 months of full-time support and 18 months of half-time support. Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship awards allow fellows to choose research environments that will have maximal impact on their future scientific development. Dr. Jeffrey E. Steif received his doctoral degree from Stanford University, and will pursue research in the area of pure mathematics, specifically, Ergodic Theory of Interacting Particle Systems and other Lattice Systems in Statistical Mechanics, under the guidance of Dr. Joel Lebowitz at Rutgers University.