2023
PSD in the news: May 2023
May 31, 2023
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.
Prof. Vladimir Drinfeld wins 2023 Shaw Prize in the Mathematical Sciences
May 31, 2023
Vladimir Drinfeld, Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago, wins 2023 Shaw Prize in the Mathematical Sciences for his contributions related to mathematical physics and to arithmetic geometry.
UChicago announces 2023 winners of Quantrell and Graduate Teaching Awards
May 30, 2023
Every year, UChicago recognizes faculty members for their incredible teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. This year, Michael Gladders is one of the winners of the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards, and Bozhi Tian is being recognized with a Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.
Evaluating Anti-Facial Recognition Tools
May 30, 2023
In a study presented on May 23-26th at the 44th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, researchers at the University of Chicago developed a framework to systematically evaluate existing anti-facial recognition tools and describe how creators of similar tools can design them to be even more resilient to the evolving landscape of facial recognition.
UChicago instructors, grad students honored for exemplary teaching
May 26, 2023
Kale Davies, Mathematics, and Samuel Knight, Chemistry, recognized for exceptional instruction of students in the College
2023 Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize for Exceptional Service in the Physical Sciences Division
May 26, 2023
The recipients of the 2023 Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize for Exceptional Service in the Physical Sciences Division are Michael J. Franklin, Liew Family Chair of Computer Science, Senior Advisor to the Provost on Computation and Data Science and Faculty Co-Director of the Data Science Institute, and Dan Nicolae, Professor in the Departments of Statistics and Human Genetics, and the Section of Genetic Medicine, and Faculty Co-Director of the Data Science Institute.
Astronomers have spotted a once-in-a-decade supernova—and you can, too
May 25, 2023
The death throes of a massive star in the galaxy M101, located just 21 million light-years away from Earth, are entrancing professional and amateur astronomers alike
The Day Tomorrow Began: The first nuclear reaction
May 25, 2023
In 1942, Enrico Fermi and a group of scientists gathered beneath the football stands at the University of Chicago to feverishly work on a secret experiment—to achieve the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction—that would that would change the world forever.
University of Chicago joins global partnerships to advance quantum computing
May 22, 2023
$100 million from IBM to help develop quantum-centric supercomputer; $50 million from Google to support quantum research and workforce development.
Answering big questions at the South Pole
May 17, 2023
MyChoice extern and computer science graduate student, Kevin Bryson, writes about Prof. Bradford Benson's work to develop detectors and massive telescopes that enable the study of the origins of the universe.
Study finds fascinating link between photosynthesis, supercooling of atoms
May 16, 2023
University of Chicago professor David A. Mazziotti, and grad students LeeAnn M. Sager-Smith and Anna O. Schouten, explained how they discovered the link and what it could mean for the future of how we power our homes and cities.
Damage delays restart of Italy’s giant gravitational wave detector
May 16, 2023
Physicists will resume their hunt for astrophysical monsters: black holes and neutron stars going bump in the dark and emitting ripples in space called gravitational waves. But one of the three detectors that have spotted such waves—Virgo, near Pisa, Italy—has run into technical problems that will delay its restart, 3 years after all the facilities shut down for maintenance and upgrades.
Smart glove enhances your sense of touch in virtual reality
May 13, 2023
Stimulating nerves on the back of your hand makes it feel like you are grasping things in VR without needing to have your palms covered in material.
Balloon launches to search for particles coming from outer space
May 12, 2023
Update: NASA's super pressure baloon mission terminated due to anomaly - May 14
On May 12, NASA launched an experiment built by a PSD-led international team to send a scientific balloon to 110,000 feet above the Earth. The project, termed Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon or EUSO-SPB2, is searching for messengers from outer space: tiny, highly energetic particles that hit the Earth on their way from elsewhere in the universe.
Photo by NASA/Bill Rodman
Researchers get first up-close look at mysterious planet’s atmosphere
May 11, 2023
A team led by scientists from UChicago and the University of Maryland used the Webb telescope to observe GJ 1214b’s atmosphere by measuring the heat it emits while orbiting its host star. The exoplanet is too hot to be habitable, but likely contains water vapor.