News

2022

The quest for an ideal quantum bit

May 9, 2022

A new qubit platform: Electrons from a heated light filament (top) land on solid neon (red block), where a single electron (represented as a wave function in blue) is trapped and manipulated by a superconducting quantum circuit (bottom patterned chip).

A team including Prof. David Schuster of the Dept. of Physics has announced the creation of a new qubit platform formed by freezing neon gas into a solid at very low temperatures, spraying electrons from a light bulb’s filament onto the solid, and trapping a single electron there. This system, developed at Argonne, shows great promise to be developed into ideal building blocks for future quantum computers.


Deep disparities in internet access found across Chicago in new analysis

May 9, 2022

Percentages of Chicago households with internet access, by community area, according to data from the American Community Survey (2015–2019) and the city of Chicago data portal.

Citywide, about 80% of households have internet access, but researchers with the University of Chicago’s Internet Equity Initiative led by Prof. Nick Feamster said there is a nearly 40 percentage-point difference between certain neighborhoods.


Shut the Sash: Behavior awareness program impacts campus sustainability

May 5, 2022

James Passolano

The UChicago PSD has expanded a program dedicated to addressing energy use reduction throughout all facilities that have chemical fume hoods. The behavior of lowering the sash after the experiment ends, and especially when the lab closes for the night, has proven to be a tipping point on energy usage that has launched a major culture shift in the PSD. 


UChicago scientists uncover clues to mysterious but crucial genetic process

May 5, 2022

Bottles from a biochemistry lab

Chemist Prof. Chuan He has published results that shed light on a previously unknown pathway of genetic regulation, indicating new research directions to understand the fundamental processes of mammalian development—and could suggest avenues of treatments for disease or other biotechnology.


Five UChicago faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences in 2022

May 4, 2022

Three faculty members of the Physical Sciences Division and the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, Prof. Juan de Pablo, are among the 120 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences this year. The PSD faculty include Prof. Joshua Frieman of Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chair and Professor Young-Kee Kim of Dept. of Physics, and Prof. Andrei Tokmakoff of Dept. of Chemistry.


Computer simulations hold the key to understanding some of the world’s deadliest viruses

May 3, 2022

Greg Voth

Using complex “multiscale” computer simulations modeling viruses, Prof. Greg Voth and his team modeled the properties in the disassembly process that causes the capsid surrounding an HIV virus to rupture as well as how SARS-CoV-2 binds and enters cells. 


A new technique to delete single atoms can speed up molecule design

May 2, 2022

Asst. Prof. Mark Levin (left) and Ph.D. student Jisoo Woo at work in the laboratory at the University of Chicago.

A new technique published by University of Chicago chemists and the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. allows scientists to quickly and easily produce new molecules of interest, to accelerate discovery by reducing the time and energy that goes into molecule design process.


Fermilab engineers develop new control electronics for quantum computers that improve performance, cut costs

May 2, 2022

A masked man holds an electronics board

Physics professor David Schuster led the University’s lab that helped with the specifications and verification on real hardware for a new system of control and readout electronics, known as Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, or QICK. Developed with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, it has proved to drastically improve quantum computer performance while cutting the cost of control equipment.


This VR system turns you into an NPC by moving your muscles for you

May 2, 2022

Wearable system setup showing nodes prompting head movement

Yudai Tanaka, Pedro Lopes, and Jun Nishida of the Department of Computer Science are creating ways for virtual reality experiences to become more tactile. In a recent paper, they describe a system which uses electrical stimulation to control head movements of players in a VR environment.


Two PSD students awarded DOE Office of Science funds for graduate research

May 2, 2022

Physical Sciences data map logo

Grace Chesmore, a fifth-year PhD student in the Department of Physics, and Celeste Keith, a fourth-year graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, will conduct research at Fermi National Laboratory as part of the Department of Energy's Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program.


UChicago named in NSF $20 million CONECT Award under the forthcoming ACCESS program

April 28, 2022

A $20M NSF CONECT Award will continue to support Globus, a research data management service developed and operated by the University of Chicago, as well as staff with expertise in building open and interoperable distributed research cyberinfrastructure (CI).


Physics professor Peter Littlewood elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 28, 2022

Peter Littlewood

Peter Littlewood, Professor of in the Department of Physics, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds appointments in James Franck Institute and the College, is a Fellow of the Institute of Molecular Engineering, and was former director of Argonne National Laboratory.


PSD in the News - April 2022

April 28, 2022

PSD against a white and turquoise background

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to find axion particles with new detector designs, advocate for paleobiology and evolutionary biology, and lead the S4 collaboration to design the next generation of telescopes detecting the light of the Cosmic Microwave Background.


Supernova forensics

April 28, 2022

The supernova known as 2014C took place eight years ago—but scientists are still watching and learning from its aftermath. The very faintly visible explosion is shown circled in red.

Eight years later, an explosion far out in space is still revealing secrets about the lives of stars. Vikram Dwarkadas, University of Chicago research professor of astronomy and astrophysics, comments.


The Fujita Scale, explained

April 25, 2022

University of Chicago Professor Tetsuya

A UChicago News “explainer” on University of Chicago meteorologist Ted Fujita and how he devised the Fujita Scale, the internationally accepted standard for measuring tornado severity.