News: Faculty

2026

An MS-ADS instructor’s perspective on AI innovation in China

August 3, 2026

A photo of the week-long AI and robotics innovation tour.

Artificial intelligence is advancing at a remarkable pace. For faculty who teach the next generation of data scientists, keeping up with that pace requires more than reading papers or attending conferences. It means seeing how innovation unfolds where it is happening.


Remotely operated, robotic lab receives $20 million National Science Foundation grant

August 3, 2026

Photo of the PoLARIS Project laboratory.

AI-powered PoLARIS Project will execute science experiments remotely, allowing underserved researchers across the nation access to create novel soft materials from afar.


New method boosts crop yield and drought resistance using plants’ own genes

August 3, 2026

Trimming a section off a plant gene raised rice harvests up to 25% in new tests by University of Chicago scientists, with better tolerance for drought and heat.

UChicago tests lifted rice harvests up using plants’ own protein, with implications for other crops.


CQE-led Bloch quantum tech hub raises $55 million to build U.S. quantum supply chain

August 3, 2026

Photo of two people holding a mechanical object.

Federal award unlocks millions in state and private sector contributions, positioning Midwest to lead U.S. quantum manufacturing.


Daniil Rudenko awarded fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study

July 31, 2026

Daniil Rudenko

Assistant Professor Daniil Rudenko was awarded a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in the School of Mathematics for the 2026–27 academic year. This prestigious membership allows for focused research and the free and open exchange of ideas among an international community of scholars at one of the foremost centers for intellectual inquiry.


Yu Deng awarded Fields Medal: top news stories

July 30, 2026

Yu Deng

On Thursday, July 23, mathematics professor Yu Deng was awarded the Fields Medal—the highest honor in mathematics. Deng, together with fellow honoree Hong Wang, became the first citizens of the People’s Republic of China to receive the award in its 90-year history. Read more about this historic win.


Distant exoplanets may be hiding water beyond Webb telescope’s reach, study finds

July 27, 2026

An artist’s concept of what the faraway planet TOI-270 d may look like. A new study suggests these types of planets may be hiding more water than they let on.

UChicago scientists offer new way to read atmospheric data on a vast class of 'sub-Neptune' worlds.


Chemists shrink gallium nitride, the material behind LED lighting, into nanocrystals

July 27, 2026

University of Chicago chemists have shown how to make nanocrystals from a useful class of materials known as metal nitrides—a previously impossible task. Above, an electron microscope image of the crystals, which are so small that billions could fit on

Molten-salt method from UChicago and Argonne could unlock durable materials for printed electronics, flexible devices.


Classical and quantum computing reveal molecular insights

July 27, 2026

To study molecules with complex structures, UChicago and IBM combined forces to develop a new method that takes advantage of today’s quantum computers.

To study molecules with complex structures, UChicago and IBM combined forces to develop a new method that takes advantage of today’s quantum computers.


Inside Argonne’s push toward autonomous scientific discovery

July 27, 2026

Photo of Ian T. Foster.

Artificial intelligence-powered robotics are reshaping how experiments are designed, run and refined.


University of Chicago scientists create “artificial leaf” that could be used for wireless implants

July 27, 2026

Former UChicago PME graduate student Pengju Li examines the surface structures of the

What University of Chicago scientists call an artificial leaf that mimics photosynthesis could be useful for wireless medical implants and other technologies.


Scientists discover a planet with the most Earth-like conditions yet

July 27, 2026

An artist's conception of planet LHS 1140b with its red parent star in the background.

The search for exoplanets—or worlds orbiting other stars—is astronomy’s great Easter egg hunt. For astronomers looking for extraterrestrial life, the true jackpot planet would be Earth-like: smallish and rocky, with an atmosphere, orbiting its parent star in the so-called habitable zone, that sweet thermal spot that is not too hot and not too cold, allowing water to exist in liquid form. In the 34 years exoplanets have been studied, no world that checks all of those boxes has ever been spotted—until now. 


Could we stop El Niño by brightening clouds? New study explores how.

July 27, 2026

Weather extremes like drought, wildfire and flooding will increase in frequency and intensity over the coming years as global warming accelerates.

Scientists say marine cloud brightening could weaken El Niño by cooling key Pacific waters, but major questions remain about feasibility, risks, and global oversight.


AI content moderation guardrails fail at policy changes: fix arrives before EU deadline

July 27, 2026

This photo illustration, created on May 7, 2026, shows AI-generated images posted on pro-Trump AI influencers' social media accounts, displayed on a phone and computer screens.

New benchmark shows specialized guardrails score near-random when content policies change.


Scientists say the galaxy’s most common planets could be hiding vast amounts of water that Webb may not be able to detect

July 27, 2026

A blue planet.

Could the James Webb Space Telescope be missing hidden water on distant worlds? A new study suggests the answer may be yes.