2024
Two UChicago scholars elected as 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows
April 18, 2024
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Profs. Guangbin Dong and Benoît Roux have made breakthroughs in organic synthetic chemistry and biophysics. They join the 2023 class, announced April 18, which includes scientists, engineers and innovators across multiple fields.
Machine learning could help reveal undiscovered particles within data from the Large Hadron Collider
April 18, 2024
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Scientists used a neural network, a type of brain-inspired machine learning algorithm, to sift through large volumes of particle collision data.
Sarah King uses art competition to enhance student understanding
April 11, 2024
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For the past two years, Chemistry Assistant Professor Sarah King has organized an open art contest in her CHEM 122 class. At the end of the quarter, several students are selected to present a visual project before the class that breaks down complex chemistry principles into creative works of art. By incorporating elements of creativity and communication, the competition serves multiple purposes in King’s pedagogical approach.
Non-unital noise adds a new wrinkle to the quantum supremacy debate
April 11, 2024
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CS PhD Student Soumik Ghosh and Assistant Professor Bill Fefferman find that random circuit sampling problems that incorporate non-unital noise do not anticoncentrate, breaking every easiness and hardness result to date.
Winners of the 2024 UChicago Science as Art competition announced
April 11, 2024
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The University of Chicago has announced the winners of its 2024 “Science as Art” contest, which highlights images of innovative scientific research from the UChicago community.
The contest drew more than 60 entries from undergraduates, graduate students, staff, alumni, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members, showcasing everything from fossils to fly anatomy. Together, these images display the pursuit of knowledge in a new light, underscoring the beauty of intellectual exploration.
The grand-prize winner is “Peculiar Dynamics” by Computer Science PhD student Sam Everett!
Meteorites may be lost to Antarctic ice as climate warms, study says
April 11, 2024
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In a CNN article, Geophysical Sciences postdoc Maria Valdes states that as the climate continues to warm, Antarctic rocks are sinking into the ice at an increasing rate, making many meteorites inaccessible to scientists and causing the loss of "precious time capsules that hold clues to the history of our Solar System."
The inadvertent geoengineering experiment that the world is now shutting off
April 11, 2024
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MIT Technology Review article discusses the same study regarding the reduction in air pollution and its connection to global warming. Geophysical Sciences professor David Keith notes that this inadvertent "geoengineering experiment" is now being shut off as the world cleans up its air.
Clearer skies may be accelerating global warming
April 11, 2024
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A Science article, which quotes Geophysical Sciences professor Tiffany Shaw, discusses how the reduction in air pollution and aerosols has led to less reflection of sunlight, which could be contributing to faster global warming.
University of Chicago chemists discover a key protein in how lysosomes work
April 11, 2024
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Protein lets calcium ions into cell; finding could open new avenues for therapies.
2024 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
April 11, 2024
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Congratulations to the nine PSD graduate students who have been awarded 2024 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships! The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
A tantalizing ‘hint’ that astronomers got dark energy all wrong
April 5, 2024
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NYT article: Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of that mysterious cosmic force. That could be good news for the fate of the universe. Wendy Freedman praises the new survey data as "superb," and Michael Turner says the possible evidence that dark energy is not constant is the best news since cosmic acceleration was established.
University of Chicago astronomy students prepare for trip of a lifetime for solar eclipse
April 5, 2024
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Josh Frieman will lead around 50 astronomy students south to Carbondale to be in the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse.
The dream machine
April 4, 2024
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An accelerator known as a muon collider could revolutionize particle physics—if it can be built. Physicists, like UChicago's Karri Dipetrillo, are advocating for one to be built at Fermilab.
This tool makes AI models hallucinate cats to fight copyright infringement
April 4, 2024
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SAND Lab's Nightshade aims to help artists prevent image generators from easily reproducing their work, but the researchers behind it warn more intellectual property safeguards are needed.
First results from BREAD experiment demonstrate a new approach to searching for dark matter
April 4, 2024
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UChicago, Fermilab research uses coaxial “dish” antenna to scan for mysterious particles.