News: Faculty

GeoSci Asst. Prof. Sunyoung Park says Earth's mantle isn't liquid, but it's less rigid than sinking oceanic crust, adding that "in geological timescale[s], it's almost acting like a fluid, although it's solid rock."

GeoSci Prof. David Jablonski says, "The standard estimate is that 99.9% of species that have ever lived are extinct," but adds that that is "a crude approximation."

To understand how RBFOX2 modifies cell function, Chemist Chuan He and colleagues grew malignant hematopoietic stem cells with RBFOX2 deactivated in petri dishes and found that the proliferative capacity of the cells was markedly reduced, indicating that there might be higher expression of RBFOX2 in leukemia cells.

Crain's Chicago Business reports on Prof. Rina Foygel Barber being awarded a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation.

In an Axios article, UChicago President Paul Alivisatos comments on the combined efforts of UChicago and University of Illinois to land a new flagship federal center of advanced semiconductor research and manufacturing, saying, "We have a long and deep history of being at the forefront of the study of quantum science, physics and chemistry."

University of Chicago Prof. Rina Foygel Barber, a statistician known for her work in quantifying uncertainty, has been awarded a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship.

AzoQuantum article highlights a computational analysis led by Chemistry Prof. Giulia Galli forecasting the circumstances necessary to produce certain spin defects in silicon carbide.

UChicago chemists create sensors to track potassium, sodium in organelles.

Commenting on the FCC's broadband map in a Scientific American article, Director of the Internet Equity Initiative Alexis Schrubbe says, “The way that data decisions were made in the creation of this map will have ramifications for generations...this map is probably the highest-stakes data product that the federal government has ever created."

In a Wall Street Journal, Robert Rosner comments on today's Nobel Prize in Physics, saying the winners have "basically created a tool that allows you to look at phenomena and timescales that we’ve never been able to explore before."

In a Business Insider article, computer scientist Ben Zhao says the explosion in generative AI has sparked a "race to the bottom" as companies cut expenses and lay off low-level art roles, adding that "there's a lot of actual replacement going on, but many companies are just using generative AI as a way to argue for downsizing, to try to drive down costs and maximize profits."

An Economist article by Prof. David Keith discusses oil company investments into carbon capture technology.

A New Yorker article mentions the work of two UChicago chemists--Stanley Miller and Harold Urey (shown right)--in the 1950s who conducted research on the building blocks of life.

Photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

The National Science Foundation has awarded UChicago’s M-STAR Center of Chemical Innovation program $1.8 million as a Phase 1 Research Center. M-STAR, which is short for MXene Synthesis, Tunability and Reactivity, will be designed as a incubator of MXene study and a major nexus for materials science research.

Department of Energy national labs are laying groundwork for a potential multi-billion dollar initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools for scientific and security applications, leveraging its advanced computing capabilities. Computer scientist and head of Argonne’s Computing, Environment, and Life Sciences Directorate Rick Stevens participated in the Senate-wide briefing.