News: Faculty

2025

Handheld device captures airborne signs of disease

June 28, 2025

Structured surface The scientists designed a surface with microscopic silicon spikes that help droplets form inside the device to be read. Each of the spikes (shown above in an electron microscope image) is about 1/200th the width of a human hair.

Researchers lead by Bozhi Tian develops a new device called the Airborne Biomarker Localization Engine (ABLE). ABLE detects both non-volatile and volatile molecules in air in around 15 minutes.


Peter Littlewood, Chair of the Department of Physics

June 26, 2025

Peter Littlewood

Peter Littlewood, Professor in the Department of Physics, the James Franck Institute, and the Neuroscience Institute, will continue as Chair of the Department of Physics through June 30, 2026. Effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, David Schmitz, Professor in the Department of Physics and the Enrico Fermi Institute, will be appointed Chair.


Fred Ciesla, Chair of the Department of the Geophysical Sciences

June 26, 2025

Fred Ciesla

Fred Ciesla, Professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences and the Enrico Fermi Institute, has been appointed as Chair of the Department of the Geophysical Sciences effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028.


Peter Eng, Executive Director of CARS

June 25, 2025

Argonne

Peter Eng, Research Professor, has been reappointed as Executive Director of CARS effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028.


Ed Blucher, Director of the Enrico Fermi Institute

June 24, 2025

Ed Blucher

Ed Blucher has been reappointed as Director of the Enrico Fermi Institute effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028.


A massive endeavor

June 23, 2025

visualization of a muon-producing collision

UChicago physicist Karri DiPetrillo is on a mission to bring a muon collider to fruition.


Abby Vieregg, David N. Schramm Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics

June 23, 2025

Photo of Abigail Vieregg outdoors

Abby Vieregg, David N. Schramm Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, has been reappointed in this role effective August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2028.


John Carlstrom, Chair of the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics

June 23, 2025

John Carlstrom

John Carlstrom, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor, has been appointed as chair of the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028.


Edward Anders, who duped Nazis and illuminated the cosmos, dies at 98

June 20, 2025

Edward Anders in 1985 in front of Ruth Duckworth’s “Earth, Water, Sky” sculpture inside the Henry Hinds Laboratory

His research unraveled mysteries about the solar system and the demise of the dinosaurs. In retirement, he turned his attention to the Holocaust.


New data tool tracks pesticides’ impact on public health and the environment

June 16, 2025

Image containing the words

The California People and Pesticides Explorer equips citizens with visibility into pesticide use and its effects.


How does life rebound from mass extinctions? Scientists find surprising answers

June 16, 2025

Examining the fallout from the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period, researchers found that the species that survived weren’t random.

Study by UChicago, Smithsonian, UK Natural History Museum challenges assumptions about survival after global catastrophe.


Tiny fragment of asteroid giving Field Museum scientists a glimpse 4.6 billion years into the past

June 16, 2025

Photo of an asteroid in space.

The Field Museum is the new temporary home to a tiny piece of pristine asteroid. The fragment of the asteroid Bennu, on loan from NASA, won't be on display for visitors, but will give scientists the chance to study an asteroid sample uncontaminated by Earth's atmosphere.


Trump’s crackdown on foreign student visas could derail critical AI research

June 16, 2025

Photo of a visa with various markings and stamps.

Rebecca Willett comments on the crackdown of student visas. The US says it will “aggressively revoke” Chinese student visas and has paused interviews for all student visa applicants. Experts warn the moves could weaken American leadership in STEM.
 


The James Webb Space Telescope reveals the oldest galaxy in the universe

June 16, 2025

Depiction of galaxy in the black void of space.

Asst. Prof. Harley Katz discusses the finding of the oldest galaxy in the universe and how that affects our understanding of astronomy. 


Epic effort to ground physics in math opens up the secrets of time

June 16, 2025

Yu Deng usually studies the behavior of systems of waves. But by applying his expertise to the realm of particles, he has now resolved a major open problem in mathematical physics.

By proving mathematically how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians, including Yu Deng, have illuminated why time can’t flow in reverse.