News

2023

Prof. Wendy Freedman to present Ryerson Lecture on ‘Our Expanding Universe’

April 5, 2023

Wendy Freedman

Renowned UChicago PSD astronomer Wendy Freedman will deliver a talk on her work to understand the history and expansion of the universe.

 


Giant planets can have very different atmospheres, according to NASA’s Webb telescope

April 3, 2023

A planet called Smertrios, or HD 149026b, is about three times hotter than the rocky surface of Venus, the hottest planet in our solar system.

Distant planet called Smertrios is very different from Jupiter and Saturn, UChicago-led study finds. It is about three times hotter than the rocky surface of Venus, the hottest planet in our solar system.
 


Incoming planetary sciences postdoctoral researcher selected for the Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellowship

April 3, 2023

Maria Steinrueck working in front of a blackboard

Fellowship provides exceptional postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.


2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

March 31, 2023

Physical Sciences data map logo

Nine PSD graduate students have been awarded 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.


JWST finds a ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet that defies expectations

March 29, 2023

Image of JWST exoplanet

Assoc. Prof. Jacob Bean comments on the newly discovered exoplanet Smertrios and its surprising atmospheric composition. 

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


PSD in the news: March 2023

March 29, 2023

PSD against a white and turquoise background

This month PSD researchers have been recognized for their pioneering discoveries, the quality and innovation of their research programs, and their unique contributions to new fields of inquiry. 


PSD Spotlight: Ryan Landek 

March 29, 2023

PSD’s March spotlight is Ryan Landek, Executive Director of Computing and IT. Ryan joined the Physical Sciences Division on November 2022 to develop, lead, and oversee PSD’s computing and information technology strategy.


Meet chemistry student, Lauren McNamara

March 29, 2023

Lauren McNamara wearing a grey sweater against a vivid and colorful background.

Lauren is a third-year UChicago chemistry PhD student, with a bachelor’s in chemistry from UC Davis. She is a synthetic inorganic chemist and works primarily with a carbon and sulfur-based scaffold that she links between transition metals. We interviewed her about her experiences at UChicago. 


UChicago scientists discover easy way to make atomically thin metal layers for new technology

March 24, 2023

A scanning electron microscopy image reveals the beautiful shapes of tiny structures known as MXenes, which are of interest to scientists for new devices and electronics but were previously hard to create. These were grown with a new easier and less toxic

A new breakthrough by UChicago scientists shows how to make MXenes far more quickly and easily, with fewer toxic byproducts. Researchers hope the discovery, published March 24 in Science, will spur new innovation and pave the way towards using MXenes in everyday electronics and devices.

Image by Di Wang


New study casts doubt that Venus was ever habitable

March 23, 2023

side-by-side rendering of Earth and Venus

By examining the composition of Venus’ atmosphere today and running simulations of its past to recreate those conditions, UChicago researchers found very few scenarios in which Venus could have sustained liquid water and moderate temperatures for long.

Images by NASA/JPL


Prof. Wendy Freedman discusses early universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson

March 22, 2023

Wendy Freedman

Prof. Wendy Freedman discusses what the early galaxies discovered by JWST tell us about the early universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Matt Kirshen on StarTalk Radio.


Scientists use lasers to recreate ‘twisted’ superconducting material

March 21, 2023

New research by Prof. Cheng Chin at UChicago and Shanxi University discovered a way to simulate superconductivity that occurs when two sheets of graphene are slightly twisted as they are layered.


Celebrate Pi Day with my Pi Pizza with Amie Wilkinson

March 15, 2023

Pi Day surrounded by little black confetti

NBC Chicago celebrates pi day with Pi Pizza and UChicago mathematician, Amie Wilkinson.


Is it a fossil? Is it a beehive?

March 14, 2023

Physical Sciences data map logo

New Scientist article discusses Asst. Prof. Pedro Lopes and graduate student Jasmine Lu's work to create a smartwatch that is partly made of slime mold, a living entity that must be fed adequately and often enough or the watch will stop working.


Long-sought math proof unlocks more mysterious ‘modular forms’

March 9, 2023

Quanta Magazine discusses Prof. Frank Calegari's co-authored paper that provided proof of the unbounded denominators conjecture.

Image: Jaynelon/Quanta Magazine