News: Faculty

2026

‘Designer’ superconducting diamond: Researchers uncover path to multimodality quantum chips

June 29, 2026

Jyotirmay Dwivedi, graduate student at Penn State University and first author on the paper, works in Nitin Samarth’s laboratory at Pennsylvania State University.

Discovering the physical principles of superconductivity in diamond opens the door for scientists to use it in new quantum technologies
 


Hacking the atmosphere: Geoengineering gets a reality check

June 29, 2026

A plane in the sky.

Researchers are starting to explore the tools and systems we need to develop to cool down the planet.


How AI companies can pay fair rates for the content they need

June 29, 2026

A graphic of money spreading outward.

The fight over the data that trains artificial intelligence has become one of the defining economic conflicts of the decade.


PSD leadership appointments for 2026

June 25, 2026

PSD in white against a maroon background

PSD department chair, director, and deputy dean appointments and reappointments, effective July 1, 2026.


How websites trick you using ‘dark patterns’

June 23, 2026

Puppet attached to puppet strings

In this episode of Big Brains, Marshini Chetty discusses tactics used in apps and online to deceive users—from subscription traps to collecting data.


Flexible displays, flexible lives: how BloomBeacon reimagines interaction

June 23, 2026

Visual of the BloomBeacon.

A new device from AxLab, led by PhD student Willa Yang in the Department of Computer Science, lets digital displays bloom from everyday objects and surfaces—creating touch interfaces only when they're needed, and helping technology fade seamlessly into daily life.


New UChicago platform rapidly generates custom protein binders to target disease

June 23, 2026

Joshua Pixley of the Dickinson Lab

How an innovative UChicago laboratory built a fast-moving platform to target "undruggable" cancer proteins and train the next generation of scientific leaders. 


Sex, drugs and … AI?: students think everyone else is doing it more than they are

June 23, 2026

Photo of pills spilled on a desk.

Researchers say a lack of reliable information on artificial intelligence use on campus could lead to misguided policies.


Math and novels with Carlos Kenig

June 23, 2026

Photo of Carlos Kenig.

Carlos Kenig discusses the Fields Medal, Jorge Luis Borges, and the Chicago School of Analysis.
 


Professor Dam Thanh Son: from International Mathematical Olympiad gold medalist to world-leading physicist

June 23, 2026

Professor Dam Thanh Son.

From a student who won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad with a perfect score in 1984, Professor Dam Thanh Son has become one of the most influential Vietnamese-born theoretical physicists on the international stage.


The AI revolution mirrors the green transition

June 23, 2026

Corporate safeguards for workers using artificial intelligence include having a dedicated AI complaint mechanism, according to AI Company Data Initiative.

The need for massive upfront investments and the likelihood of significant job displacement imply remarkable parallels between the AI buildout and the green transition. In both cases, the state has an important role to play in guiding market forces on behalf of the public good.


UChicago forum examines the future of climate intervention

June 23, 2026

People gathered to listen to a panel of speakers.

The two-day conference, Frontiers in Climate Systems Engineering, began with an uncomfortable premise: Climate change is real, its consequences could be catastrophic, and avoiding the worst outcomes will likely require dramatic intervention.


Like a wire bender, but for pop tubes

June 23, 2026

A tube folded up on itself in a contraption.

Are you familiar with pop tubes? Resembling the corrugated section of a bendy straw, they are at the core of PopTuber, an intriguing research project from the Actuated Experience Lab at the University of Chicago.


Peter B. Littlewood, condensed matter physicist and internationally recognized leader, 1955–2026

June 23, 2026

Peter Littlewood

Remembered for expansive expertise, collaborative spirit, and dynamic leadership.


Prof. Giulia Galli appointed CNRS fellow-ambassador

June 17, 2026

Photo of professor Giulia Galli.

Galli joins a prestigious cohort of leading figures from the world’s scientific community