News: Newsclips

2024

UChicago announces 2024 winners of Quantrell and PhD Teaching Awards

May 16, 2024

Fred Chong (top), Sid Nagel

Fred Chong, the Seymour Goodman Professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been awarded a Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award. Sidney Nagel, the Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor of Physics and the College, has won a Faculty Award for Excellence in PhD Teaching and Mentoring.

Congratulations, Profs. Chong and Nagel!
 


Drug targeting RNA modifications shows promise for treating neuroblastoma

May 15, 2024

Neuroblastoma cells

Researchers from the University of Chicago, including chemist Chuan He, show that a drug molecule targeting RNA modifications in neuroblastoma cells suppresses tumor growth in mice.


AI for control rooms

May 15, 2024

Illustration of a scientist pinpointing part of a galaxy through the lens of a magnifying glass

Scientists in particle physics and astrophysics, including institutions such as Fermilab, are turning to AI for help with complex tasks.


Scientists find evidence that meltwater is fracturing ice shelves in Antarctica

May 15, 2024

A pool of melting water forms atop the ice shelf

Increased temperatures from climate change cause ponds that weaken ice, expedition finds.


Inside the He Lab: Using the science of RNA to feed the world

May 15, 2024

From left: Guanqun Wang, Chuan He, and Haoxuan Li

Travel inside Prof. Chuan He’s lab and meet the scientists working on new ways to boost plant growth and drought resistance with a technique based on RNA.


PSD Spotlight: Andres Silva

May 15, 2024

Andres Silva

Andres Silva, who grew up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, is a Human Resources Coordinator for the Physical Sciences Division. Before joining UChicago, they were the freelance HR Coordinator for Big Ten Network in downtown Chicago. We interviewed Andres about their interests and experiences.

"Though many people know me as a tech-savvy person, I also know a great deal about auto mechanics, photo/video editing, carpentry, and music, to name a few."


NASA to launch UChicago undergraduates’ satellite

May 13, 2024

Members of the UChicago PULSE-A leadership team.

A team of UChicago undergraduates is building a communications satellite smaller than a paper towel roll that will be launched into orbit courtesy of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. 

PULSE-A was designed and will be built by a group of 53 University of Chicago undergraduates from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, the Physics Department, the Computer Science Department, and the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. 


How quantum physics could ‘revolutionise everything’

May 13, 2024

David Awschalom

In the US, the University of Chicago has built one of the country's longest quantum networks. It is almost 200km (124 miles) long and growing. BBC article cites physicist David Awschalom's work.


What happens when NASA loses eyes on Earth? We’re about to find out.

May 13, 2024

clouds

Three long-running satellites will soon be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet. GS Assoc. Prof. Elisabeth Moyer is cited in the NYT article.


Collapsing sheets of spacetime could explain dark matter and why the universe ‘hums’

May 13, 2024

Bubbles

Domain walls, long a divisive topic in physics, may be ideal explanations for some bizarre cosmic quirks. Physicist Cheng Chin's research is referenced in this Scientific American article.


Kill the sun! How wild thought experiments drive scientific discovery

May 13, 2024

A view of a supernova explosion with its bright light and shockwave visible

"My colleagues call me a supervillain for trying to destroy the cosmos, but this kind of imaginative thinking isn't so far from what scientists do," says space reporter Leah Crane. A New Scientist article quotes Wendy Freedman about how "we need wacky ideas."


Dark energy may be weakening, major astrophysics study finds

May 13, 2024

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory

A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map of the cosmos to date hints that this mysterious energy has been changing over billions of years. Quanta article quotes UChicago astrophysicist Joshua Frieman.


Cloud control: Humanity’s never-ending quest to control the weather

May 13, 2024

hail cannons

For over a century, we’ve turned to technology in an attempt to control the weather. Are today’s geoengineering proposals any better? A Popular Science article references research by GS Prof. David Keith.


Renowned biochemist Hening Lin to join the University of Chicago Department of Chemistry

May 13, 2024

Hening Lin

The Department of Chemistry has hired renowned chemical biologist Hening Lin as a Professor in the Department of Chemistry. He will serve a primary, tenured appointment with the Biological Sciences Division in the Department of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Chemistry as a Professor of Chemistry.


UChicago scientists use machine learning to turn cell snapshots dynamic

May 13, 2024

cancer cells

Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a new method to use machine learning to turn static snapshots of cells into better pictures of how cells and genes change dynamically over time.