News: Faculty

Fourth-year PhD student Kelly Wagman, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and the Greater Chatham Initiative, develops a community-based app that bridges the gap between the residents’ and the scientists’ needs for flood-reporting resources and data.

When mixing disciplines, there are some subjects that are much more readily paired—psychology and biology or visual arts and photography. However, one physical science course at the University of Chicago seeks to combine three subjects that aren’t a natural fit on the surface. “The Chemistry of Artists' Materials,” taught by Assistant Instructional Professor Hannah Lant, blends together art, history and science.

Scientists from UChicago created a new way to study snoRNAs, showing they may serve a surprisingly broad range of functions across many cell types.

The US Department of Defense has invested $2.4 million over two years in deepfake detection technology from a startup called Hive AI. UChicago Prof. Ben Zhao comments on the potential efficacy of this tool.

Internet service providers offer a wide range of speeds in their plans. However, the speed customers pay for is not always consistent with what they experience. Computer Science Prof. Nick Feamster comments on factors that might contribute to varied internet speeds.

California is making so much solar energy that large commercial operators are increasingly forced to stop production, raising questions about the state’s costly plan to shift entirely to carbon-free sources of electricity. Computer science Prof. Andrew Chien comments.

The term “dark energy” was coined by the UChicago astrophysicist Michael Turner in 1998. Since then, details about this phenomenon have remained a mystery to scientists. Prof. Joshua Frieman comments on why it is likely that dark energy was not prevalent during the initial inflation of the Big Bang.

Scientists and companies increasingly support blocking some sunlight to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. David Keith, head of UChicago's Climate Systems Engineering initiative, is leading the movement in favor of geoengineering experimentation. 

A collaboration between computer engineers and AI specialists at Microsoft and UChicago resulted in the creation of a new language that allows large language models (LLMs) to communicate more efficiently.

Coating the interior of superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities with a Nb3Sn film can drastically enhance the efficiency and performance of particle accelerator infrastructure. However, imperfections in the deposited Nb3Sn coating limit its implementation as a next-generation SRF material. A study by the Sibener group, in collaboration with Cornell University and Brigham Young University, explores how imperfections form and how they can affect SRF performance. 

Congratulations to Wendy Freedman for being named one of Nature’s 10! She is recognized for her pioneering work on Hubble constant measurements. 

A new study uses data collected by the South Pole Telescope to deepen our understanding of how the universe was born and evolved.

Thanks to a new investment, researchers will leverage the Aurora exascale supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory to discover new targets for cancer therapies. Bryan Dickinson, a UChicago chemist, is part of the team behind the project.

New observations of distant galaxies have intensified a debate that scientists call the Hubble Tension. A UChicago study led by Prof. Wendy Freedman produced new estimates for the Hubble Constant, challenging previous work. 

Researchers led by chemist Stuart Rowan developed a method that uses charred plant material to produce high-quality graphite.