2022
To map the human brain, researchers first look to the octopus
August 17, 2022

Prof. Peter Littlewood, Dept. of Physics, and his collaborators at Argonne National Laboratory used supercomputing power to image the neuronal architecture of the octopus in an attempt to reverse-engineer its brain and understand how it functions.
Prof. Nakamura comments, The U.S. could see a new ‘extreme heat belt’ by 2053
August 16, 2022

Prof. Noboru Nakamura, Dept. of the Geophysical Sciences, comments on a new report that uses hyperlocal data and climate projections to show that cities as far north as Chicago could have many more days of extreme heat each year.
Building the quantum workforce of tomorrow
August 15, 2022

A new certificate course at the University of Chicago prepares workers to join the quantum industry.
Meteorite provides record of asteroids ‘spitting out’ pebbles
August 15, 2022

Research led by Prof. Philipp Heck, the Robert A. Pritzker Curator of Meteoritics at Chicago’s Field Museum, and geophysical sciences graduate student, Xin Yang, explains strange particle ejection behavior seen in 2019 on the Bennu asteroid.
NPR’s Short Wave interviews Sadie Witowski: Making audio magic with math
August 15, 2022

NPR’s Short Wave radio show interviews Sadie Witowski of the Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation about their new math podcast, Carry the Two.
UChicago co-leads $10 million NSF institute on foundations of data science
August 11, 2022

New funding from NSF will grow the IDEAL consortium of more than 60 regional researchers in computer science, statistics, mathematics and electrical engineering. Main research topics of interest include the foundations of machine learning, high-dimensional data analysis and inference, and data science and society, including emerging issues of reliability, fairness, privacy and interpretability.
A new shortcut for quantum simulations could unlock new doors for technology
August 11, 2022

Prof. David Mazziotti, Dept. of Chemistry, led the creation of a method to efficiently calculate quantum phase transitions. This new shortcut for quantum simulations could unlock new doors for technology similar to ones that led to MRI machines and the transistors in modern computers and phones.
Could learning algebra in my 60s make me smarter?
August 8, 2022

Prof. Amie Wilkinson, Dept. of Mathematics, advises her uncle, The New Yorker writer Alec Wilkinson, on best practices for learning math.
The future remembers its past: Largest gift of art to PSD features career retrospective of Hyde Park painter
August 5, 2022

In the biggest gift of art to the University of Chicago’s Physical Sciences Division and Harris School for Public Policy, the family of Julie Richman has donated twenty of her paintings for display in buildings representative of the modern architectural plan for campus. The gift was made in honor of Phil Richman, AB’47, Prof. Emeritus Bruce Winstein, and Francisco Fonta, SB’13.
$205 million investment accelerates construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope
August 2, 2022

The Giant Magellan Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever engineered using the world’s largest mirrors, today announced it has secured a $205 million investment from its international consortium to accelerate construction. This investment marks one of the largest funding rounds for the telescope since its founding and includes leading commitments from the University of Chicago, Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), The University of Texas at Austin, and University of Arizona.
NSF awards $20 million to universities for advanced data science
August 1, 2022

A $20M NSF award will establish the Institute for Data, Econometrics, Algorithms, and Learning, a multi-disciplinary effort led by the University of Illinois Chicago in collaboration with the University of Chicago and other area universities. It will focus on the foundations of machine learning, high-dimensional data analysis and inference, and data science and society.
PSD in the News - July 2022
August 1, 2022

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to use supercomputing simulations to reveal weaknesses in HIV-1 defense, share the scientific community's enthusiasm for the first full-color images of James Webb Space Telescope, and to invent a ‘quantum flute’ that can make particles of light move together.
XENON collaboration shatters sensitivity record in search for dark matter
July 28, 2022

With their latest results, the XENON collaboration broke their own record for the most sensitive direct detection dark matter experiment ever conducted.
Jordan Bimm comments, Russia to drop out of ISS after 2024
July 27, 2022

UChicago historian of science Jordan Bimm says Russia's departure from the International Space Station creates a constellation of uncertainties about maintaining its operation.
Supercomputing simulation reveals weaknesses in HIV-1 defense
July 26, 2022

A study led by Prof. Gregory Voth, Dept. of Chemistry, ran the first realistic simulations of how the HIV capsid stabilizes and forms. "The vulnerabilities in the armor of the HIV-1 virus capsid were revealed by the simulations and analyses we did," said Voth. The realistic model could result in better understanding of the infection process and improved treatments.