This award is made as part of the FY 2016 Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Program. Each of the fellowships supports a research and training project at a host institution in the mathematical sciences, including applications to other disciplines, under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The title of the project for this fellowship to Brian Collier is Higgs Bundles and Surface Group Character Varieties. The host institution for the fellowship is University of Maryland, and the sponsoring scientist is Richard Wentworth.