News: Faculty

Computer scientist Pedro Lopes discusses JumpMod, a device that helps VR users feel a more realistic experience when jumping.

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 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.

A Knowable Magazine article discusses Prof. Susan Kidwell's discovery of brachiopods in seafloor samples as part of a wastewater monitoring program.

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.
 

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

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Jiwoong Park will serve as the next chair of the department, effective August 1st. As part of a new leadership initiative, Professor John Anderson has also been appointed Associate Chair by Dean of Physical Sciences Angela Olinto. Professor Anderson will aid the Chair in pursuing the department’s mission of excellence in research and education.

Professor Emeritus Philip Eaton (PhD '60), widely recognized as the founder of cubane synthesis, died on July 21. He was 87. Eaton was a world leader in synthesizing non-natural products to probe molecular structure effects. Known for his intellectual curiosity and bold research that pushed the limits of our understanding, he was the first to successfully synthesize a carbon cube and initiate cubane synthesis in 1964, an act the chemistry world had thought impossible until Eaton's discoveries.

Congratulations to Chemistry professor Greg Engel, who is one of 42 new people honored as an ACS fellow for 2023. This program of the American Chemical Society recognizes ACS members who have made exceptional contributions to science, the profession, and the ACS community.

A Collider article mentions the movie's portrayal of Manhattan Project scientist David Hill, who was stationed at UChicago's Met Lab.

Photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

A Wall Street Journal article cites computer science Assoc. Prof. Marshini Chetty as saying that Netflix has no incentive to be transparent about its proprietary internal data.

Ben Zhao discusses the Biden Administration's efforts to regulate AI in an artnet news article, AI protections in relation to the Hollywood actor and writer strike in a story for The Intercept, and a tool designed to protect your photos from AI in a story for MIT Technology Review.

The model problem the team—led by computer scientist William Fefferman—debuted pinpointed a provable quantum speedup over any classical computer and indicates that entanglement is the cause.

Of the 31 Nobel Prize-winning Manhattan Project scientists, 12 had UChicago ties, including Maria Goeppert Mayer.

Photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

University of Chicago professor of computational and applied mathematics Lek-Heng Lim has been awarded the 2023 Vannevar Bush Fellowship, the U.S. Department of Defense’s most prestigious award for basic research. It provides $3 million in funding to support transformative, “blue-sky” research at the limits of today’s technology.