People of PSD

The Physical Sciences Division is a vibrant community composed of students, faculty, and staff from around the world. Our success is built on collaborative relationships and our strength lies in our diverse perspectives.  It is therefore important in the current context, where our focus on safety requires physical distancing, that we think creatively about how to maintain close social bonds.  

Although we are currently physically separated, we think it would be good to offer small windows into each other’s lives so that we can share snapshots amongst the community, to remind one another of the rich variety of experiences in the PSD.

The photos below have been submitted to our People of PSD photo contests. Please feel free to browse and participate in future contests. The winners will receive a small care package from the Dean of Students Office. 

Current students are encouraged to submit an entry to the photo contest (see your email for details) or vote on submissions (please limit to one vote per person). 

Pets of PSD Entries | Plates of PSD Entries | Places of PSD Entries

We made a snow owl! (Photo by An/Amy) (Brian, Computer Science PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Chicago River on a stunning winter morning (Adrian, Computer Science PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Calming waters, fiery sky, by your side (Frank, Chemistry PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Looking up at the façade of Rockefeller Chapel at night highlights the details. (Thomas, MS-PSD Student)
<3 (Ananth, Chemistry PhD Student)
Stone Arch Bridge during the drawdown of the Mississippi river! (Emma, Computer Science PhD Student)
Autumn in Lake Superior (Taokun, Chemistry PhD Student)
A spontaneous snowman building session to avoid quantum mechanics homework (Lauren, Physics PhD Student)
Amazing dusk view on 55th street (Yuhan, Physics PhD Student)
Socially distanced tree (Yu, Statistics PhD Student)
Lakeshore run with views (Iris, Mathematics PhD Student)
A simple little snowman to find the joy in this weather (Nora, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
From when it was a bit warmer outside... (Carly, Physics PhD Student)
Morning walk with the dog after the snow storm (Katrina, Physics PhD Student)
Chasing the sunset (Siming, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Do you want to build a snowman? (Kai, Physics PhD Student)
R2D2 (Iva, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Icy Lake Michigan (Junfan, Financial Mathematics MS Student)
Winter walks along the lakefront (Maya, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Me enjoying the snow (Chris, Computer Science PhD Student)
I love snow days (Jake, Chemistry PhD Student)
Icicles on grass by the Chicago waterfront (Grace, Computer Science PhD Student)
Made Xiaolongbao from scratch for hometown food cravings. (Ruiyu, Chemistry PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
A quarantine favorite: Avocado Cookies! (Giorgio, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
These days I spend my weekends folding butter into pastry... (Maya, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and mushroom gravy (Liam, Mathematics PhD Student)
Gluten free pumpkin bread (left) and lemon poppyseed bread (right). (Megan, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
It's shockingly difficult to draw a maple leaf. (Anne, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
RP works burger with signature double onion (Rhys, Physics PhD Student)
Is there such a thing as too much baking? (Nora, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Taiwanese Braised Pork Over Rice (Wen-hung, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Homemade Montreal Bagels: the taste of home away from home. (Sarah, Chemistry PhD Student)
Egg (Yuhui, Mathematics PhD Student)
Flock of turkey cupcakes (Kate, Chemistry PhD Student)
Cooked for 14, sat just 4 (Nick, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Homemade vegan ramen for a chilly Fall day (Abigail, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Homemade Apple Cinnamon Kombucha (Mohit, Physics PhD Student)
Nectarine burrata salad topped with pesto, prosciutto, and pine nuts (Jean, Computer Science PhD Student)
Quarantine bread (Bill, Mathematics PhD Student)
Mini sweet potato pecan pies for Thanksgiving! (Sarah, Mathematics PhD Student)
Celebrating Thanksgiving with homemade Chinese comfort food (Amy, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
My first attempt of a Thanksgiving meal (Po-Chieh, Chemistry PhD Student)
A Vegan Thanksgiving! (Celeste, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
A hug from Hida (Scarlett, Chemistry PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Senior Pup Marble Enjoying the Leaves at Promontory Point (Samantha, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Mando's first time at Promontory Point! (Abigail, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Tate Higgins. Loves to leap, hunts her human, chooses joy. Insta: @tatehiggins71 (Jake, Chemistry PhD Student) (Student-Selected Winner)
Meet Little Lennon! (Giorgio, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Honghong (Xuan, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Despite owning three cat beds, Jeera likes to sleep in the sink. (Clare, Chemistry PhD Student)
Three beautiful yellows (Sohee, Chemistry PhD Student)
Leah Jun (Kevin, MPCS Student)
Our pet avocado, Pat, keeps life lively and fun! He's low maintenance and always down to hang. (Emily, Computer Science PhD Student)
Carol and Doug on Halloween! (Sarah, Chemistry PhD Student)
My loyal pet hamster (ball). Allergy friendly. (Casey, Computer Science PhD Student)
La Manada (Rudy, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Winnie (Daniel, Physics PhD Student)
Scarlett reading "A Century of Mathematics in America." (Carsen, Financial Mathematics MS Student)
Nagi by the Lake (Camilla, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Spotato, 10/10 Cat, 6/10 Office Mate (Elizabeth, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Look how lovely Chiquita is! (Kiho, Mathematics PhD Student)
Myrddin and Charlemagne obstructing homework (Lauren, MS-PSD Student)
Mocha (Victoria, Chemistry PhD Student)
A new friend, Abby has made. (Jean, Computer Science PhD Student)
Shila the adventure pup sitting in front of a glacier in Alaska (Brian, MPCS Student)
Bennett (Claire, MPCS Student)
'I see you' - Maya (Ram, Chemistry PhD Student)
I give you Dante. We could not find a birthday cone, so he is wearing a hand-painted N95 mask. (Laura, Chemistry PhD Student)
Purrtal (Jody, Physics PhD Student)
Miso (Sasha, Physics PhD Student)
Dexter and Maple (Kourtney, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
My roommate knitted a beanie. My dog thought it's for her. (Huanqing, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Such an Erudite Puppy (Maya, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Ruthie wants to remind all the humans to wear proper PPE to stay safe in and out of lab. (Josh, Chemistry PhD Student)
Tishka knows as well as I do that science can be hard work. (Sasha, Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
My cat Sasha, seen here as my recording engineer. (Josh, Mathematics PhD Student)
Xiongxiong (Sijia, Physics PhD Student)
This little lady has no time for the catwalk; Dr. Muscles has serious kitten business to attend to! (Julia, Chemistry PhD Student)
Hey, I am Bunty! Nice to meet you. I'm a 40 days-old baby husky (Harshvardhan, Financial Mathematics MS Student)
Chucky sleeps next to 1963 VW sedan (Arturo, Chemistry PhD Student)
Brisket hard at work! (Dan, Physics PhD Student)
Garrett the Gecko (Claire, Physics PhD Student)
Lennie, a 2 year old foster, comfortably lounging on a chair. (Derrick, MPCS Student)
Titan: an adorable gremlin, but a gremlin nonetheless (Ander, Statistics MS Student)
Paper (Min, Computer Science PhD Student)
Another long day of working remotely for Misty! (Lauren, Physics PhD Student)
Too much catnip on a very COVID night. -Aurora (Borealis) Borregard (Megan, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
This is Latte. She has a small body and a big attitude. (Julie, Chemistry PhD Student)
Chana likes to lie on her back and wait for the toys to come to her (Adam, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
This is my hamster Tony; he is eating an Oreo (Wei, Mathematics PhD Student)
Emmy (Noether) Colen has always been assiduous about playing with study (Meg, Physics PhD Student)
Curie loves to say cheese! (Jonathan, Physics PhD Student)
Pippin the Mini Lop (Nora, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
Daeji ("pig," in Korean), on the right, is the model in our house - even Mandu ("dumpling") appreciates her. (Nick, Biophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Kitten Escapades - Cardboard Investigation Did Not Go As Expected (Megan B., Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
I stared into the abyss and the abyss stared back (Megan M., Geophysical Sciences PhD Student)
Midnight mischief, Slinky (left) & Rex (right) (Adina, Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD Student)
"Paint me like one of your French kitties" -Bootsie (Sarah, Chemistry PhD Student)
Me and Capuchino monkeying around in Jackson Park (Isa, Mathematics PhD Student)
Ranna is working on her PhD in cuteness! (Lipi, Physics PhD Student)