News

2026

To teach social-emotional skills, does a robot need to pretend to be human?

April 4, 2026

Robots don’t replace the human element in teaching, the scientists said, but can serve as supplemental one-on-one tutoring.

UChicago scientists team up with Chicago Public Schools to test if robots need fictional personalities to teach effectively.


CSEI announces latest research awards

March 30, 2026

Climate Systems Engineering Initiative logo

Eight new projects led by University of Chicago faculty and researchers will deepen understanding of climate interventions and their potential tradeoffs.


Four UChicago scientists named Association for the Advancement of Science fellows in 2026

March 26, 2026

Vincenzo Vitelli (left) and Carlos E.M. Wagner

Congratulations to Vincenzo Vitelli and Carlos E.M. Wagner, who were named 2025 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their distinguished contributions to the sciences. 


The 2026 Schmidt Science Fellows will break down barriers and advance discovery

March 25, 2026

Di Wang

Congratulations to Chemistry alum Di Wang, PhD'25, who has been named a 2026 Schmidt Science Fellow! He aims to improve the production of nanomaterials by overcoming their biological limitations.


How realistic is the science in Project Hail Mary?

March 24, 2026

Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, reluctant astronaut, in Project Hail Mary

From the viability of waterless life to how researchers should handle cosmic emergencies, astronomer Wendy Freedman weighs in on the new sci-fi film.
 


Scientists discover ultra-red star from the dawn of the universe

March 24, 2026

A Stellar Fossil Pushes Boundaries (Image Credits: Unsplash)

Researchers, including members of the University of Chicago, find the lowest abundance of iron in any ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, reshaping our understanding of cosmic chemistry. 


Most data center water usage comes from electric supplying plants

March 24, 2026

Photo of professor Andrew Chien.

Andrew Chien, director of the Center for Unstoppable Computing at the University of Chicago, warns the rapid boom of data centers is slowing the decarbonization of the power grid.


AI, nuclear weapons, and the lab looking to mitigate risks

March 24, 2026

Some scholars have growing concerns about how AI and nuclear weapons might intersect.

At the University of Chicago’s Existential Risk Laboratory, researchers study how emerging technologies like AI could amplify global threats such as nuclear war.
 


How did animals conquer the deep sea? Mussels and clams point to two different strategies

March 24, 2026

Beds of Bathymodiolus mussels provide important habitat for other deep-sea critters, including sea stars, scaleworms and limpets.

New research shows why some shelly critters flourished in the ocean’s harshest habitats — and others didn’t.


‘Collective hum’ of black holes could mend our broken understanding of the universe, physicists say

March 24, 2026

An illustration inspired by the European Space Agency’s upcoming LISA detector, with gravitational waves rippling through the background. Studying the faint hum of gravitational waves across the universe could help solve the Hubble tension, one of the b

Ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves may be the key to solving the Hubble tension — one of the biggest nagging problems in physics.
 


How fast is the universe actually expanding? Ripples in spacetime could finally solve ‘Hubble tension’

March 24, 2026

An illustration of the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang (left) to today (right).

A team of scientists says it's possible to use tiny ripples in space and time, or gravitational waves, to measure the rate at which our universe is expanding. This could solve one of the biggest mysteries in physics today, a disparity in calculating this rate known as the "Hubble tension."


On physics: Aspen and the cosmos

March 24, 2026

Photo of Scott Dodelson.

Scott Dodelson discusses his experience entering into the field of physics. 


New satellite network idea could improve how scientists measure the universe

March 24, 2026

Meteors along the Milky Way in the sky on August 05, 2021 in Porma Lake, Leon, Spain.

A proposed five-satellite Cosmic Positioning System could measure cosmic distances directly and help address discrepancies in the Hubble constant through solar system–scale triangulation.


AI is reshaping how meteorologists forecast the weather

March 24, 2026

Photo of both Pedram Hassanzadeh.

Video and article feature Pedram Hassanzadeh and Alexander Wichner discussing the future and history of meteorology.


Three scholars to receive honorary degrees at UChicago’s 2026 convocation

March 24, 2026

Photo featuring three musicians playing at the 2026 Convocation.

Shankar Balasubramanian, the Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.