2023
Mass extinctions, massive questions: Prof. David Jablonski honored for evolution research
August 14, 2023

UChicago paleontologist David Jablonski receives Darwin-Wallace Medal for unique approach to evolution, extinction studies.
Photo by Jean Lachat
‘It gave us some way to fight back’: New tools aim to protect art and images from AI’s grasp
August 14, 2023

In a CNN article, computer scientist Ben Zhao discusses his tool to protect the work of artists from AI, Glaze, saying "entire, multiple, human creative industries are under threat to be replaced by automated machines."
Fossils are tackling one of conservation’s toughest questions
August 14, 2023

An Atlantic article highlights research by geophysical sciences professor Susan Kidwell finding that runoff from overgrazed, eroding soil most likely smothered the hard surfaces brachiopods needed, resulting in the local extinction of an entire ecosystem.
University of Chicago scientists invent smallest known way to guide light
August 11, 2023

Scientists at the University of Chicago, including chemist Jiwoong Park, found a glass crystal just a few atoms thick can trap and carry light—and could be used for applications.
Photo by Jean Lachat
What NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has discovered in its first five years looping the sun
August 11, 2023

Spacecraft named for pioneering UChicago scientist ventures closer to the sun than humanity has ever been: the 5-year anniversary of the Parker Solar Probe launch.
Image courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
Walter Payton grad’s study finds ‘adequate’ but not ‘equitable’ internet access at 6 CPS schools
August 10, 2023

A Block Club Chicago article details a study of internet speeds at Chicago Public Schools led by an incoming UChicago student who was assisted and mentored by computer scientist Nick Feamster.
How AI is transforming scientific research, with Rebecca Willett
August 10, 2023

In episode 116 of the Big Brains podcast, Prof. Rebecca Willett (the Data Science Institute's faculty director of AI) discusses how AI will change science and examines the opportunities—and dangers—of this rapidly emerging technology.
Physicists move one step closer to a theoretical showdown
August 10, 2023

A New York Times article details the new results from Fermilab's Muon g-2 project and includes comments from astrophysicist Dan Hooper.
Image courtesy of Reidar Hahn/Fermilab, via U.S. Department of Energy
‘Endless possibilities’: the chemists changing molecules atom by atom
August 7, 2023

Associate professor of chemistry Mark Levin discusses skeletal editing, a hugely simplified way to alter matter, paving the way for world-changing innovations in personalized medicine and sustainable plastics.
The JumpMod haptic backpack makes virtual leaps more realistic
August 7, 2023

Computer scientist Pedro Lopes discusses JumpMod, a device that helps VR users feel a more realistic experience when jumping.
UChicago scientists observe first evidence of ‘quantum superchemistry’ in the laboratory
August 7, 2023

A team from the University of Chicago, led by physicist Cheng Chin, has announced the first evidence for “quantum superchemistry” – a phenomenon where particles in the same quantum state undergo collective accelerated reactions. The effect had been predicted but never observed in the laboratory.
Photo by John Zich
Two University of Chicago scientists win 2023 Energy Department Early Career Research awards
August 7, 2023

Two scientists with the University of Chicago, including assistant professor of physics Clay Córdova, have been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Early Career Research Program. The awardees will receive five-year grants to investigate quantum field theory and electrochemical energy storage.
Conservation paleobiology: eyeing the past to restore today’s ecosystems
August 4, 2023

A Knowable Magazine article discusses Prof. Susan Kidwell's discovery of brachiopods in seafloor samples as part of a wastewater monitoring program.
Streaming with Brad: Tracking extreme weather events
August 2, 2023

For a CBS News video segment, Geophysical Sciences professor Noboru Nakamura discusses the record-breaking temperatures that made July the hottest month on record around the globe. Prof. Nakamura mentions how his research tracks the factors that contribute to extreme weather events.
Nobel laureate James Cronin’s papers open to research in Special Collections
August 1, 2023

James Cronin (1931-2016) was a physics professor at the University of Chicago and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1980 for discovering the CP violation. He specialized in particle physics for the first half of his career, later focusing on cosmic rays and their origin. The James Cronin Papers, now open for research, primarily document Cronin's research and discovery of the CP violation, his research on cosmic rays, and the building of the Pierre Auger Observatory, highlighting Cronin's dedication to science and the breakthroughs he made within the field.
James Cronin Papers, Box 131, Folder 8, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library