News

Prof. Joshua A. Frieman and Prof. Emeritus Eugene Parker named Fellows of the American Astronomical Society. Prof. Frieman was recognized for his significant theoretical work on inflationary cosmology and dark energy and for pioneering contributions to optical survey science. Prof. Parker was named a Legacy Fellow for pioneering contributions to solar astrophysics.

A Physics student in the McMahon lab, Grace Chesmore, led the optical measurements of new metamaterial tiles to improve the sensitivity of large telescopes at SimonsObservatory. This discovery may yield insights into how the universe began.

Professor Elena Shevchenko joins Chemistry faculty. She is recognized as one of the top scientists worldwide in the synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals and nanocrystal superlattices.

better listening
Read the PSD Communications blog Intentional Space for simple strategies to help you navigate working from home and heighten your awareness. For this January post, PSD Communications Specialist Maureen McMahon spoke to psychologists about the gift of better listening—why to offer it, to whom, and how.

Roger Hildebrand, Manhattan Project veteran and ‘giant’ of physics and astrophysics, 1922-2021. Prof. Emeritus Hildebrand, who revolutionized sub-millimeter astronomy and the Dean of the College during the Vietnam era, died Jan. 21. He was 98.

New self-assembly method creates bioelectronics out of microscopic structures. Scientists in Prof. Bozhi Tian’s lab use a “bottom-up” approach to yield highly customizable bioelectronics.

Cosmologist Brian Nord is interviewed by Gizmodo about building a coalition of physicists and computer scientists promoting algorithmic accountability. Nord is a machine learning expert at Fermi National Laboratory who studies strong gravitational lensing and deep learning.

UChicago CS team led by Prof. Nick Feamster receives $1.2M to map the digital divide in Chicago. Grant from data.org to fund ‘moonshot’ to bring high-speed internet accessible to all

The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor that represents how close humanity is to self-destruction, due to nuclear weapons and climate change. The clock hands are set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group formed by Manhattan Project scientists at the University of Chicago who helped build the atomic bomb but protested using it against people. Jan. 26 they will unveil where the hands are for 2021.

As part of its new Pioneers Program, NASA has chosen four small-scale astrophysics missions for further concept development, including PUEO, a balloon mission led by Assoc. Prof. Abigail Vieregg, that will launch from Antarctica and detect signals from ultra-high energy neutrinos.

There were 39 news articles featuring Physical Sciences Division research and accomplishments in December and January. Scientists created the first computational model of the entire virus responsible for COVID-19, pioneered measurements of electricity in cells, and charted the evolution of U.S. energy consumption. Several valued members of PSD were memorialized, including a Nobel lareaute and a graduate student. See highlights below and read the full list.

Chemist Prof. Gregory Voth was interviewed about the first usable computational model of the entire virus that is responsible for COVID-19 on Fox 32 Chicago.

NanoPattern Technologies, co-founded by Prof. Dmitri Talapin, and ReAx Biotechnologies, founded by Asst. Prof Raymond Moellering, receive $150,000 each to commercialize research.

Prof. Benson Farb is among mathematicians resurrecting Hilbert’s 13th Problem. Long considered solved, David Hilbert’s question about seventh-degree polynomials is leading researchers to a new web of mathematical connections.

On January 14, Dark Energy Survey released a catalog of nearly 700 million astronomical objects to the public. The pioneering Fermilab-led survey, directed by Astronomy & Astrophysics Prof. Emeritus Rich Kron, covered 5,000 square degrees of the southern sky