News: Faculty Awards

2024

UChicago cosmologist one of Nature’s 10 people who helped shape science in 2024

December 9, 2024

Wendy Freedman

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


Six PSD members named Highly Cited Researchers

November 27, 2024

white fibrous design on black background

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.
 


Professor Emeritus James Norris to receive inaugural “Spin Chemistry Lifetime Achievement Award” at the RSC ESR Conference 2025

November 13, 2024

Portrait of Prof. Norris

Professor Emeritus James Norris received the inaugural "Spin Chemistry Lifetime Achievement Award" from the ESR Spectroscopy group of the Royal Society of Chemistry. This award is designed to honor scientists who have made groundbreaking contributions to the field of spectroscopy.


Rebecca Willett receives the SIAM Activity Group on Data Science Career Prize

November 9, 2024

Portrait of Dr. Willett

UChicago Professor of Computer Science Rebecca Willett is the 2024 recipient of the SIAM Activity Group on Data Science Career Prize, for “her work in physics-informed machine learning and data science and for her service and leadership in the data science community.”


Two UChicago scientists honored with 2024 Department of Energy Early Career Awards

October 17, 2024

Portrait of Prof. Joyce

Astronomy and Astrophysics Asst. Prof. Austin Joyce has been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program. Prof. Joyce will use this opportunity to apply cosmological quantum field theory to understand how the universe evolved and acquired its structure.


Alex Drlica-Wagner and Tiffany Shaw have been elected to the American Physical Society’s Fellows

October 17, 2024

Photo of Shaw and Drlica-Wagner

Two UChicago faculty members were recognized as 2024 APS Fellows. Prof. Tiffany Shaw was selected for her contributions to atmospheric dynamics and its response to climate change, while Asst. Prof. Alex Drlica-Wagner was honored for his work in observational cosmology, including groundbreaking research in dark matter science.


Assistant professor of physics Zoe Yan named to the 2024 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering

October 15, 2024

Zoe Yan

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced today the 2024 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering, including UChicago assistant professor of physics Zoe Yan. This year’s class features 20 innovative early-career scientists and engineers who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research. This year’s class of Fellows is pushing the boundaries of science and innovation in their fields of study, from advances in detecting and treating serious diseases to understanding how species react to changing climates to energy-efficient electronics. 


UChicago alum John Jumper shares Nobel Prize for model to predict protein structures

October 9, 2024

John Jumper

Congrats to John Jumper, SM'12, PhD'17, who was awarded a share of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work creating an AI model called AlphaFold that predicts the structures of proteins. 

Jumper studied with Karl Freed, Henry G. Gale Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and member of the James Franck Institute; and Tobin Sosnick, William B. Graham Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and member of the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics.

Jumper becomes the 100th scholar associated with UChicago to receive a Nobel Prize!


Ben Zhao: One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI

September 13, 2024

Photo-Illustration by TIME

The second edition of TIME100 AI showcases some of the most influential new leaders in AI research and technology. Featured in this year's list is UChicago's Computer Science professor Ben Zhao, the inventor of Nightshade, a program that helps protect artists' work from AI scraping.


UChicago President Paul Alivisatos accepts 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience

September 11, 2024

Photo of UChicago President Paul Alivisatos, Prof. Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University and Prof. Robert Langer of MIT at the Kavli Prize ceremony.

UChicago President Paul Alivisatos was honored this week in Norway as one of the winners of the 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. He shared the award with Prof. Chad Mirkin of Northwestern and Prof. Robert Langer of MIT.


UChicago lands $7.4 million grant to study how cells adapt to surroundings

September 1, 2024

Photo of scientists leading the research project.

A multidisciplinary eight-member team from UChicago and Northwestern will launch the Cellular Adaptation Lab to study how fundamental cellular behaviors are linked to disease and responses to climate change.


Giulia Galli wins Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry

August 16, 2024

Chemistry Department and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Prof. Giulia Galli has been named the 2024-2025 Joseph O. Hirschfelder Awardee. This yearly prize honors exceptional work in theoretical chemistry.


Sarah Sebo awarded prestigious CAREER grant for research on robot social skills in collaborative learning

August 12, 2024

Sarah Sebo

Assistant Professor Sarah Sebo secures CAREER grant to develop robots with advanced social skills for improved collaboration and learning in schools and beyond.


New ultrasensitive DNA-based test helps detect cancer earlier

August 6, 2024

Researchers from UChicago and Northwestern developed a new ultrasensitive DNA-based test that can detect cancer from small fragments of DNA circulating in the blood. Among this team of scientists is John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry Chuan He, a leading expert in the field of epigenomics.


Three PSD faculty named as Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago Investigators

August 2, 2024

clockwise from bottom left: Bryan Dickinson, Margaret Gardel, and Vincenzo Vitelli

Bryan Dickinson, Margaret Gardel, and Vincenzo Vitelli will study topics related to inflammation and the functions of the immune system.