News: Events

Christian Mitchell, vice president for civic engagement, discusses the South Side Science Festival.

Scientists and science enthusiasts from across UChicago are busy preparing to welcome thousands of South Siders to campus on Saturday, September 30, as the University hosts its second annual South Side Science Festival.

Photo by Jean Lachat

Drawing from letters, books, journals, photographs, astronomical glass plates, and scientific tools from the University of Chicago Library’s Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, as well as materials borrowed from Yerkes Observatory, Lowell Observatory, and the Adler Planetarium, a new exhibition explores the astronomical work and lived experiences of the women who contributed to astronomical research at the Yerkes Observatory. In so doing, it also foregrounds the ways in which Yerkes Observatory was a uniquely welcoming place for women and the role communities play in the advancement of both science and individual careers.

Exhibition Dates: September 18 – ­­­­December 15, 2023
Exhibition Location: The Joseph Regenstein Library, 1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637

Photo: Astronomer at the 40-inch refractor telescope of Yerkes Observatory under the 90-foot dome. The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library.

Marvel’s Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania shines a sci-fi spotlight on quantum concepts and provides a gateway to explore the realities and possibilities.

Image by Argonne National Laboratory/Gillian King-Cargile

Leading scholars, tech developers, and entrepreneurs discussed how A.I. and machine learning are being used for scientific discovery at the inaugural University of Chicago and Caltech Conference on AI+Science, sponsored by the Tom and Margo Pritzker Foundation. The event, hosted in late March, brought together dozens of leading researchers in core AI and domain sciences to lead conversations and drive partnerships that will shape future research priorities, industry investment and entrepreneurial opportunities. 

The Community Engagement Working Group in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics organized the South Side Science Art Contest, open to children K-12 who attend schools on the South Side of Chicago. 

Renowned UChicago PSD astronomer Wendy Freedman will deliver a talk on her work to understand the history and expansion of the universe.

 

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. 
 

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to determine why the Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Nothern Hemisphere, explain how the HIV virus replicates itself, and gather and analyze data on the funding, location, and research status for more than 230 GMO crop varieties in Africa.

Asst. Prof. Sarah Sebo, Dept. of Computer Science, presented her research on human and robot interactions and their effect on emotions at Northwestern University.

UChicago unveiled Polsky Deep Tech Ventures, a new $20m initiative offering accelerators, entrepreneurial training, and funding dedicated to supporting startups that bring world-changing science and technology to market.

The fifth annual Chicago Quantum Summit brought together over 220 members of the quantum information science and technology community from across the nation and around the world. Read the recap.

PSD news and honors were among the University of Chicago’s historic 2022 highlights. Read more about Eugene Parker (1927-2022), addressing digital disparities, expanding the Chicago quantum network, and the first inaugural South Side Science Festival.

This month PSD reserachers were featured in the news for their efforts to create an 'artificial photosynthesis' system, advance nanoparticle research to fight cancer, and describe cloudy atmospheres on explanets with the James Webb Space telescope.

The fifth annual Chicago Quantum Summit, hosted by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, will convene academic, government, and industry leaders in quantum information science and engineering on Nov. 14-15. The public can attend on Zoom.