2022
Maria Goeppert-Mayer Lecture with Nergis Mavalvala
3:30–4:30 pm KPTC 106
The University of Chicago Department of Physics welcomes to the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Lecture Series Nergis Mavalvala, Marble Professor of Astrophysics at MIT and Dean of the MIT School of Science, who will deliver the 2022 lecture: “Listening to Cosmic Symphonies Above the Quantum Din.”
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Addressing the Climate & Energy Challenge
Through November 5, 2022 Online forum
Addressing the Climate & Energy Challenge: A Joint Forum Hosted by UChicago & Peking University will be six virtual events convening academics, policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders to discuss how the US and China and the world are addressing the climate and energy challenge.
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Coleman R. Seskind, MD, Lecture with Jack Szostak
4:00–5:00 pm BSLC Rm 115, online
The BSD will host an inaugural lecture delivered by Prof. Jack W. Szostak, “Why Did Biology Begin with RNA and Not Something Else?”
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Broader Impacts Fair
12:00–2:00 pm ERC Atrium
The annual Broader Impacts Fair will be held on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, from 12:00 until 2:00 pm in the William Eckhardt Research Center Atrium. Come and learn about volunteer opportunities with university and community organizations engaging in education, policy, and public outreach.
PSD Student Wellness Fair
1:00–3:00 pm ERC 161, North Science Quads
All PSD graduate students are welcome to attend a free wellness fair. Plan your wellness partnerships, play lawn games, and pet dogs from Canine Therapy Corps.
"New Cosmic Messengers and their Messages" with Dean Angela V. Olinto
12:00–1:00 pm Online
PSD Dean Angela V. Olinto, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at The University of Chicago, will deliver the lecture “New Cosmic Messengers and their Messages” at noon CST as part of the Year of Basic Science in Sustainable Development presented by Fundación UNAM Chicago.
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South Side Science Festival
11:00 am–6:00 pm UChicago Sciences Quad
The University of Chicago invites you to explore the fascinating world of science at the first annual South Side Science Festival, held on Saturday, September 17, 2022, from 11:00am until 6:00pm, at the UChicago Science Quads. This free festival will feature an afternoon and evening of fun science, inspiring exchanges, live experiments and demonstrations, food, and music! All ages are welcome!
2022 Convocation
All day
The 2022 University of Chicago Convocation will be held on Saturday, June 4. The University wide ceremony will be held on the Main Quadrangle at 9:15 a.m. CDT. The Physical Sciences Division will host two in-person diploma ceremonies: Ph.D. Graduate Diploma and Hooding Ceremony from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Logan Center for the Arts and the Master’s Graduate Diploma Ceremony from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. at David Rubenstein Forum.
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Virtual Harper Lecture: Beyond Our Sun
7:00–8:00 pm Virtual
In December, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever to be sent into space. It is currently being commissioned in preparation for science operations, which are expected to begin in July 2022. Join Jacob L. Bean to learn about the telescope; its launch, deployment, and current status; and the fascinating extrasolar planet science that is to come.
Origins of Life Speaker Series: John Sutherland
3:45 pm Kent 120 or Zoom
Origins of the RNA-Protein World – Lost in Translation?
The RNA-protein double act at the heart of biology raises several intriguing origins questions that can be addressed by prebiotic chemistry. Beyond the obvious ‘which came first?’, one can also wonder about the extent to which chemistry shaped the process of translation according to the genetic code. In this lecture I will describe some mixed hydrogen cyanide-hydrogen sulfide chemistry that produces nucleotides and amino acids. Some degree of control is necessary for this ‘cyanosulfidic’ chemistry to proceed most efficiently and ways in which environmental factors could exercise this control will be suggested. Synergies in the assembly of nucleotide and amino acid building blocks into higher order structures will then be discussed as will experimental hints of a previously proposed second genetic code. Finally, it will be shown how the strength of codon-anticodon binding likely influenced the partial initial assignment of the primary genetic code.