News

In the shadow of her family’s atomic legacy, a writer set out to understand the increasingly urgent debate about humanity’s capacity to end itself—and what it can teach us about living.

Analysts say benefits could be felt in under-resourced rural hospitals but warn against AI as a cost-cutting measure.

Faraway planet defies our understanding of planet formation, say UChicago scientists.

The Galli Group has created a high-throughput computational strategy, creating a new, data-driven approach to finding ideal 2D materials and substrates for quantum technologies.

Recommendations from UChicago award winners, including CS alum Polly Ren, SB’25, College Undergraduate Student Prize in Undergraduate Teaching winner.

Li Ma brings his expertise in design-aware modeling back to Hyde Park as a Professor of Statistics and Data Science.

Combining artificial intelligence with a conventional climate model can predict heatwaves faster than the standard model alone.

Looking at an X-ray image of a galaxy cluster is like watching fireworks frozen in time. You see swirls and arcs, bubbles and filaments, structures that hint at past violence but don't explain what actually happened. Astronomers have puzzled over these features for decades, trying to determine which came from shock waves, which from cooling gas, and which from bubbles blown by black holes. A new technique answers these questions directly, creating images that classify the structures by their physics rather than their appearance.

Congratulations to Michael Rust, who has been selected as a 2025 Innovation Fund Investigator.

In 2025, the Physical Sciences Division at the University of Chicago continued its enduring legacy of scientific discovery, translating innovation into bold impact in service of a better world. We’re thrilled to share a few of our proudest achievements.

Mark Oreglia, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and the Enrico Fermi Institute, has been reappointed in his role as Deputy Dean for Infrastructure for the term January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026.

Ava Polzin, a fourth-year PhD student in Astronomy and Astrophysics, focuses on the physical and chemical mechanisms that regulate star formation in the smallest galaxies. This sort of research provides an avenue to better understand how generations of stars like our sun formed in galaxies like the Milky Way. We interviewed her about her experiences at UChicago.

University of Chicago students Logan Hanssler and Elijah Jenkins, both fourth-years in the College, have been selected as 2026 Marshall Scholars. Each will be provided the opportunity to study in their chosen fields for two years at any university in the United Kingdom. Logan Hanssler (Astrophysics; Molecular Engineering) intends to study Optics and Photonics at Imperial College London and pursue a degree by research in Physics at Durham University.

Computational chemists are constantly seeking faster, more intuitive methods to analyze the complex electronic structures that govern how molecules behave. To meet this challenge, one of the primary research goals of the Laura Gagliardi Group has been to automate the analysis of molecular orbitals (MOs)—the quantum-level electron structures critical for understanding bonding and reactivity. The ability to automate this analysis accurately directly dictates how effectively chemists can design new materials and discover new drugs.

Meteorites, lunar samples help scientists unravel the 4.5-billion-year-old mystery of ‘Theia.’