News: Faculty

Six University of Chicago Physical Sciences Division scientists were named in Web of Science's 2025 report of highly cited researchers. According to Web of Science, researchers on the list have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields.
 

Pioneering cosmologist honored for landmark measurements of the Hubble Constant.

As the Climate Systems Engineering initiative (CSEi) at the University of Chicago enters its second year, it continues to grow its research capacity and expertise across key areas of climate systems engineering.

Nick Feamster and Francesco Bronzino lead international collaboration to develop generative AI techniques that create high-fidelity network data, addressing critical challenges in machine learning, privacy, and network security.

Research led by UChicago’s Eliza Kempton finds some ‘mini-Neptunes’ likely have solid surfaces rather than molten interiors.

Two scientists, including David Keith, argue that the growing commercial efforts to counter climate change by reflecting away sunlight will thwart responsible research in the field.

Congrats to J. Peter May, who received the 2026 AMS Elias M. Stein Mentoring Award for exceptional mentoring. 

Congratulations to Heinrich Jaeger, who has received the American Physical Society's 2026 Leo P. Kadanoff Prize.

Congratulations to Frank Calegari, who is recognized for his work presenting a striking and original proof resolving a conjecture that had stood since 1968, showing that the coefficients of any noncongruence modular form possess unbounded denominators.

Scientists report the discovery of surprisingly water-rich exoplanets, despite forming in places once believed to be far too hot for water to exist. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature suggests these mysterious water worlds may be manufacturing their own oceans through chemical reactions deep within their interiors.

Current quantum computers are noisy, which places limitations on the type of quantum machine needed to outpace classical computers. An op-ed by Bill Fefferman.

Why the challenge of truly representative democracy is so complex.

An exoplanet is what we call planets that exist outside of our own solar system. The first one was discovered in 1992, but as we get more powerful and precise telescopes and instruments, scientists have been discovering more and more of these faraway planets—about 6,000 of them so far. But scientists think there are trillions more out there in the universe.

New research from Chenhao Tan reveals why even state-of-the-art AI stumbles on 4-digit multiplication—and what it takes to fix it.

Go inside the laboratory of Sarah Sebo, whose Human-Robot Interaction lab at the University of Chicago is programming robots with social skills, in order to build trust and rapport with humans. The goal is to develop robots that can improve performance, including better learning outcomes for children.