News: Faculty Awards

Congratulations to Don York, PhD’71, the Horace B. Horton Professor Emeritus in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics! The Norman Maclean Faculty Award recognizes UChicago scholars’ contributions to teaching and student life.

Rina Foygel Barber, Louis Block Professor of Statistics, Margaret L. Gardel, Horace B. Horton Professor of Physics and Molecular Engineering, and Peter B. Littlewood, Professor of Physics and Chair, were elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
 

University of Chicago Prof. Frank Calegari has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Calegari’s research is in the area of algebraic number theory. He is particularly interested in the Langlands program, a set of mathematical ideas that has been called the "grand unified theory of mathematics.”

Prof. Wendy Freedman was named among innovators in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2025 for her contributions to measuring the rate of expansion of the universe and its acceleration since the early universe.

The 2025 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize has been awarded to Ewain Gwynne for his work in conformal probability, which studies probabilistic objects such as random curves and surfaces.

Congratulations to Clay Córdova, Assistant Professor of Physics, who has received the 2025 Frontiers of Science Award (FSA) from the International Congress of Basic Sciences for his work on theoretical particle physics and new symmetries in nature.

Early-career scholars recognized for pioneering work in statistics, physics, chemistry, astrophysics, and computer science.

UChicago chemist Laura Gagliardi was honored for groundbreaking work in theoretical and computational chemistry.

The prestigious Einstein Medal, established in 1979, honors individuals who have contributed significant scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein.

Fred Chong, Seymour Goodman Professor of Computer Science, has been named an ACM Fellow for his groundbreaking work in quantum computer architecture, compilation, and optimization.

Yamuna Krishnan, the Louis Block Professor of Chemistry and the College, has received the 2025 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award. The Divisional honor provides unrestricted seed funds for intellectually exciting and innovative research ventures that enable new research directions.

Krishnan has pioneered the application of DNA nanotechnology to cell biology, deploying nanodevices as fluorescent reporters, thereby revealing the chemistry within sub-compartments of cells called organelles.

Prof. Wendy Freedman, one of world’s leading cosmologists, has been awarded the National Medal of Science, the country’s highest scientific honor. She was recognized for her pioneering contributions to cosmology, including the measurement of the expansion and evolution of the universe.

Photo by Ryan K. Morris, courtesy of the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation

Two PSD faculty members have received named professorships. Hening Lin has been named the James and Karen Frank Family Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Chemistry and the College, and Rebecca Willett has been named the first Worah Family Professor in the Wallman Society of Fellows in the Departments of Statistics and Computer Science and the College.

Congratulations to Wendy Freedman for being named one of Nature’s 10! She is recognized for her pioneering work on Hubble constant measurements. 

Six University of Chicago Physical Sciences Division scientists were named in Web of Science's 2024 report of highly cited researchers. According to Web of Science, researchers on the list have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields.