2021
Prof. Beilinson accepts Shaw Prize Award
May 21, 2021
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Prof. Beilinson, Department of Mathematics, accepted the Shaw Prize Award in Mathematical Sciences for his achievements in representation theory. Watch the acceptance speech.
PSD faculty among 2021 winners of Quantrell and Graduate Teaching Awards
May 20, 2021
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Blase Ur, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Computer Science, is a recipient of the Quantrell award, one of the nation’s oldest prize for undergraduate teaching. Daniel Fabrycky, assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, is the recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship. Read more about the awards and recipients.
PSD recognizes ten students with a William Rainey Harper Dissertation Fellowship
May 19, 2021
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The Physical Sciences Division has selected ten graduate students to receive a William Rainey Harper Dissertation Fellowship for the 2021-2022 academic year.
2021 Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize for Exceptional Service in the Physical Sciences Division
May 19, 2021
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The 2021 recipients of the Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize for Exceptional Service in the Physical Sciences Division are Aaron Dinner, Professor of Chemistry, and Stuart Kurtz, the George and Elizabeth Yovovich Professor of Computer Science in recognition of their leadership in the Division.
Ten papers at CHI 2021 flourish frontiers of HCI research at UChicago CS
May 18, 2021
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Computer Science participated in CHI 2021, a Human Computer Interaction conference, with an emerging group of UChicago faculty and student researchers representing the many different corners of HCI. This year, ten UChicago papers were accepted to the prestigious conference, with one receiving a Best Paper Award (given to the top 1 percent of submissions) and three others receiving Honorable Mentions (top 5 percent).
Symposium highlights UChicago collaborations with leading French research center
May 18, 2021
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An online symposium featured 11 presentations by student teams from UChicago and French universities affiliated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research, with questions and discussion from faculty supervisors. Attendees voted to choose the best presentations and awarded two prizes. PSD’s Yi Liu in the Department of Statistics (pictured) and Maria Douaihy of CNRS – U. Montpellier won second place for “Modeling Transcriptional Bursting in Space and Time.” First place was awarded to Marie Greaney of BSD and Maxime Lehman of CNRS – U. Paris-Saclay for “How is Sensory Information Transformed into Appropriate Motor Control?”
Kirk Lancaster, SB’18 Chemistry, named Knight-Hennessy Scholar
May 12, 2021
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Chemistry alumnus Kirk Lancaster, SB’18, has been selected as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and will receive full funding to pursue graduate studies at Stanford University. A student of Chinese language and formerly an intern at the State Department’s Office of Chemical and Biological Weapons Affairs, he will pursue advanced study of his intersecting interests of law, technology and international politics.
Chemist named 2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar
May 11, 2021
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John Anderson, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, has been named a 2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar for leveraging unorthodox bonding effects in transition metal molecules and materials. According to the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the award recognizes early-career faculty who have "an outstanding independent body of scholarship and are deeply committed to education." Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars receive an unrestricted research grant of $100,000.
Physicist Marc Kamionkowski, PhD’91, awarded 2021 Gruber Cosmology Prize
May 5, 2021
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Theoretical physicist Marc Kamionkowski, PhD’91, has been awarded the 2021 Gruber Cosmology Prize, along with Uroš Seljak of UC Berkeley and LBL, and Matias Zaldarriaga of IAS, for their contributions to methods essential for studying the early universe through analysis of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The award is given through the Gruber Foundation, which was established at Yale to honor and encourage excellence in the fields of cosmology, genetics, neuroscience, justice, and women’s rights.
Physics students selected for DOE national lab research program
April 29, 2021
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Edgar Marrufo and Aurora Ireland, graduate students in the Department of Physics, are among 78 outstanding U.S. graduate students who have been selected by The Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program to perform research in national laboratories.
PSD in the News - April 2021
April 29, 2021
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This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to build a quantum bit that can search for dark matter, use muscle response for digital authentication, design 'nanotraps' to catch and clear coronavirus from tissue, and harness molecules into a single quantum state.
Laura Gagliardi and Angela Olinto elected to National Academy of Sciences
April 27, 2021
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Chemist Laura Gagliardi and astrophysicist and dean Angela Olinto elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
2021 Academy of Arts & Sciences
April 26, 2021
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Pioneering mathematicians Amie Wilkinson and Benson Farb and astrophysicist and Dean of the Physical Sciences Angela Olinto have been elected to the 2021 American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
2021 Priestley Medalist A. Paul Alivisatos helped introduce the world to the nanocrystal
April 19, 2021
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Incoming University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos has conducted pioneering research in the field of nanotechnology. This article takes a closer look at his life and the work that led to his winning the 2021 Priestley Medal—the American Chemical Society's highest honor.
PSD climate grants foster belonging while socially distanced
April 13, 2021
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The Physical Sciences Division funded creative efforts to impact climate and foster belonging with the Inclusive Climate Grants program administered by the EDI Office. Four winning projects found innovative ways to further the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion on campus during the pandemic.