News

2023

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


Origin of life group debuts at AAAS

March 9, 2023

Planet visualization

Researchers from UChicago, ETH Zurch, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard have formed an international, interdisciplinary collaborative to explore how life evolved on Earth and, possibly, other planets.


New study shows Venus likely didn’t have ancient oceans for long

March 8, 2023

Red planet against starry sky, half obscured by darkness

Assoc. Prof. Edwin Kite and graduate student Alexandra Warren work to model the history of Venus' atmosphere.

Image: Inverse/Shutterstock


Black holes will destroy all quantum states, researchers argue

March 7, 2023

Black holes effectively observe elementary particles, an effect that echoes John Wheeler’s ideas about the “participatory universe

Prof. Robert M. Wald discusses new research findings and his studies under celebrated theoretical physicist John Wheeler.

Image: Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine


An applied mathematician with an unexpected toolbox

March 2, 2023

Photo of Lek Heng Lim in an old University of Chicago building

Lek-Heng Lim uses tools from algebra, geometry and topology to answer questions in machine learning.


No, the James Webb Space Telescope Hasn’t Broken Cosmology

February 27, 2023

The Webb telescope has spotted galaxies surprisingly far away in space and deep in the past. These four, studied by a team called JADES, are all seen as they appeared less than 500 million years after the Big Bang.

Prof. Wendy Freedman is exploring how JWST observations can be squared with the standard cosmological model.


PSD Spotlight: Sean Hernandez

February 24, 2023

Sean Hernandez

PSD's February spotlight is Sean Hernandez, Assistant Director of PSD Graphics. Sean has been with UChicago for fifteen years.


PSD in the News - February 2023

February 24, 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. 
 


Solving astrophysical problems by hand

February 23, 2023

Photo of Abigail Vieregg outdoors

Abigail Vieregg, director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, shares her passion for building experiments and bringing people together to solve scientific mysteries.


Deep earthquakes could reveal secrets of the Earth’s mantle

February 22, 2023

Earth sliced in half, showing the different layers of the planet inside.

A new study led by University of Chicago geophysicist Sunyoung Park suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock located in the Earth’s mantle. The study uses 350-mile-deep earthquake to make elusive measurements of the Earth’s layers.