News: Awards

2026

When artificial intelligence meets physics beneath the French-Swiss border

August 31, 2026

The CERN Large Hadron Collider

Deep beneath the French-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider sends protons crashing together at extraordinary speeds, allowing scientists to study the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that shape the universe. Those collisions help researchers investigate questions ranging from the behavior of subatomic particles to the possibility of new physics beyond what is currently known.


ACS announces 2027 national award winners

August 31, 2026

Laura Gagliardi (L) and Mark Levin

Laura Gagliardi and Mark Levin acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields.


How one toothbrush inspired a startup: UChicago environmental science grad builds a more sustainable future

August 26, 2026

a toothbrush, with flosser and tongue scraper heads, next to a figure spelling LOOP

After years of recycling and environmental consciousness, a UChicago alum turned to an old toothbrush, an engineering background, and new knowledge from UChicago’s MS in Environmental Science to create LOOP, a startup reimagining how people approach oral care.


Six UChicago staff members honored with Staff Impact Awards in inaugural year

August 17, 2026

Photo of the University of Chicago campus.

Congratulations to Nita Yack, Managing Director in Computer Science!


From classroom teammates to hackathon winners: MS-ADS students develop responsible AI prototype for public health planning

August 17, 2026

Out of more than 6,000 participants and 800 qualifying teams representing 150 countries, University of Chicago MS in Applied Data Science students Morgan Klutzke and Binjie Wang earned first place in the Graduate Track (Master’s & PhD) of the 2026 U.S.

Out of more than 6,000 participants and 800 qualifying teams representing 150 countries, University of Chicago MS in Applied Data Science students Morgan Klutzke and Binjie Wang earned first place in the Graduate Track (Master’s & PhD) of the 2026 U.S. Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII) Global Hackathon.


Mark Levin wins 2027 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award

August 3, 2026

Mark-Levin

Congratulations to Professor Mark Levin, who has received a 2027 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award For Organic Synthesis!


Daniil Rudenko awarded fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study

July 31, 2026

Daniil Rudenko

Assistant Professor Daniil Rudenko was awarded a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in the School of Mathematics for the 2026–27 academic year. This prestigious membership allows for focused research and the free and open exchange of ideas among an international community of scholars at one of the foremost centers for intellectual inquiry.


Yu Deng awarded Fields Medal: top news stories

July 30, 2026

Yu Deng

On Thursday, July 23, mathematics professor Yu Deng was awarded the Fields Medal—the highest honor in mathematics. Deng, together with fellow honoree Hong Wang, became the first citizens of the People’s Republic of China to receive the award in its 90-year history. Read more about this historic win.


International Congress of Mathematicians: Opening Ceremony

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng as a child playing Go

Watch Yu Deng accept the Fields Medal and a video featuring his life and work.


Amid life’s chaos, a meticulous mathematician finds stability

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

Before he won a Fields Medal for his pioneering work balancing randomness and order, Yu Deng had to achieve equilibrium in his own life.


Yu Deng predicts the actions of the whole from its tiniest parts

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

Dr. Deng, a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago, received a Fields Medal for his work on an equation describing fluid mechanics.


UChicago Prof. Yu Deng receives Fields Medal, highest honor in mathematics

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

University mathematician recognized for cracking 125-year-old challenge to ground physics in mathematics.
 


UChicago receives W. M. Keck Research Program grant to study nonreciprocal interactions

July 14, 2026

Experimental platforms the project employs to probe nonreciprocal matter; optically trapped nanoparticles, magnetically activated microspinners

W. M. Keck Foundation awarded UChicago $1.3M for the project, “Non-Reciprocal Matter,” led by Heinrich Jaeger, the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor in Physics, the James Franck Institute, and the College.


Three PSD faculty members receive named, distinguished service professorships in July 2026

July 1, 2026

PSD against a white and turquoise background

Thirteen members of the University of Chicago faculty, including three from the Physical Sciences Division, have received distinguished service professorships or named professorships, effective July 1.


Meet Kyler Rosen, MS in Applied Data Science alumnus

June 29, 2026

People posing for an award photo.

After graduating from the University of Chicago’s MS in Applied Data Science program, Kyler Rosen found himself at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and entrepreneurship as founding engineer at Slideflow Labs, a healthcare AI startup focused on rapid cancer diagnostics.