2022
Scientists simulate ‘fingerprint’ of noise on quantum computer
January 26, 2022

Scientists from the UChicago and Purdue University, including Professor of Chemistry David Mazziotti, collaborated on a new technique to construct a unique “fingerprint” of the noise on a quantum computer as it is seen by a program run on the computer. This approach, they say, shows promise for mitigating the noise problem—as well as suggesting ways that users could actually turn noise to their advantage.
PSD faculty named 2021 AAAS fellows
January 26, 2022

Two PSD faculty members are among the nine UChicago faculty named 2021 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Prof. Ed Blucher is a particle physicist and Prof. and Liew Family Chair of Computer Science Mike Franklin is an authority on computation and data science.
Computer scientist Prof. Ben Zhao named ACM fellow
January 20, 2022

The Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest and most prestigious society of computing professionals, elected UChicago CS Professor Ben Y. Zhao as a fellow in the organization’s 2021 class.
Doomsday Clock remains at 100 seconds to midnight—closest ever to apocalypse
January 20, 2022

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Jan. 20 that the hands of the Doomsday Clock—which resides on campus and was started by members of the Manhattan Project—remain at 100 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to apocalypse. The Bulletin cited disinformation, global security threats including ‘nuclear saber rattling,’ lack of actionable climate policies, disruptive technology and insufficient worldwide COVID-19 response.
Computer scientists eliminate pesky quantum computations
January 20, 2022

The work of computer scientists Bill Fefferman and Zachary Remscrim is discussed, as theories change regarding how hard it is to make intermediate measurements to quantify the complexity of quantum algorithms.
In-fridge controller could scale up quantum computers, award-winning UChicago research finds
January 18, 2022

An award-winning collaboration between computer scientists and physicists at the University of Chicago broke through one of the key obstacles for large-scale quantum computing by figuring out how to move their control signals “inside the fridge.”
Dietrich Müller, renowned cosmic ray scientist, 1936-2021
January 13, 2022

Prof. Emeritus Dietrich Müller, a renowned experimental physicist at the University of Chicago who spent half a century building instruments to study energetic particles from space called cosmic rays, died Dec. 22 at the age of 85.
How to transform vacancies into quantum information
January 12, 2022

Aided by sophisticated computational tools, the MICCoM team led by Prof. Giulia Galli reaped a harvest of pivotal discoveries that should pave the way for new quantum devices, like greatly improved control over the formation of vacancies in silicon carbide used for realizing qubits in quantum devices.
Twelve for dinner: How the Milky Way ‘ate’ smaller star clusters and galaxies
January 11, 2022

Astronomers including Asst. Prof. Alex Ji are one step closer to revealing dark matter enveloping our Milky Way galaxy, thanks to a new map of twelve streams of stars orbiting within our galactic halo. Using doppler calculations, the scientists measured the speeds of stars and their chemical compositions, telling us where they were born.
Cheng Chin receives ’21–’22 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award
January 7, 2022

Professor Cheng Chin of the Department of Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the James Franck Institute has received the ’21–’22 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award, a Divisional honor that provides $100,000 for intellectually exciting and innovative research ventures that enable new research directions. Professor Chin is a pioneer in using ultracold atoms to study the quantum phenomena that underlie the behavior of other particles in the universe.
Two PSD astronomers named AAS Fellows
January 5, 2022

Professor Hsiao-Wen Chen and Professor Emeritus Richard Kron in the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics have been named 2022 American Astronomical Society Fellows.
Asst. Prof. Alex Ji comments on the potential of the James Webb Telescope
January 4, 2022

Asst. Prof. Alex Ji, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, comments on the potential of the massive James Webb Telescope that launched on Christmas day and will be able to peer back 13.5 billion years. The successor to Hubble, it could help answer some of humanity’s biggest questions.
In the News - December 2021
January 3, 2022

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to find extremely energetic particles from outer space with the PUEO Antarctic balloon mission, teach students how to design, build and calibrate their own devices in the creative machines class, and assemble global experts to discuss internet equity and access.
2021
James Webb Space Telescope to offer humanity an unprecedented look at universe
December 21, 2021

UChicago scientists hope launch of James Webb Space Telescope will help explore previously ‘unanswerable’ questions.
UChicago faculty receive named, distinguished service professorships
December 21, 2021

Brent Doiron has been named the first Heinrich Kluver Professor of Neurobiology, Statistics and the College. Doiron uses advanced mathematics to understand how networks of neurons process information about sensory inputs. His research focuses on a combination of nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics, with an emphasis on the genesis and transfer of variability in neural circuits. He has developed core theoretical insights that have contributed to both neural coding and network learning. He works closely with experimental neuroscientists who work in the electrosensory, olfactory, somatosensory, auditory and visual systems.