News: PSD Spotlights

Bonnie Fleming has joined UChicago as professor of physics, effective March 10. Previously, Fleming served as Fermilab’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology and Chief Research Officer and a part-time University of Chicago faculty member with appointments in the Physics Department and the Enrico Fermi Institute. Read a Q&A with our newest full-time physics professor.

Yuelong Li, in his second year of the Master's Program in Computational and Applied Mathematics, focuses on the mathematics of topological insulators. We interviewed him about his experiences at UChicago.

Arnab Bose, associate senior instructional professor in UChicago’s Data Science Institute and program director of the MS in Applied Data Science Online program aims to produce career-ready graduates who can marry practical skills in building machine learning models with the ability to operationalize a model to best fit an organization’s needs.

Currently a postdoctoral researcher at JILA, Kai Li received his PhD in physics in 2023 under the mentorship of Professor Linda Young. Li has been awarded the 2026 EuXFEL Young Scientist Award, which aims to recognize outstanding contributions to research at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser by young researchers in the early stages of their career. We interviewed him about his research and his time at UChicago.

Apoorva Gupta, a second-year student in the MS in Applied Data Science program, has been learning how data science is already used in the real world in ways he never realized. We interviewed Apoorva about his experiences here.

Ava Polzin, a fourth-year PhD student in Astronomy and Astrophysics, focuses on the physical and chemical mechanisms that regulate star formation in the smallest galaxies. This sort of research provides an avenue to better understand how generations of stars like our sun formed in galaxies like the Milky Way. We interviewed her about her experiences at UChicago.

Isabel Krogh, who will graduate from the Master of Science in Financial Mathematics (MSFM) program this year, studies quantitative finance. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Isabel attended Bowdoin College in Maine before working as a research analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. We interviewed her about her experiences at UChicago.

Soumyabrata Kundu, a sixth-year PhD student in Statistics, develops methods for applications in computer vision, with a focus on biomedical imaging. Born and raised in Burdwan, a small town in West Bengal, India, Soumyabrata earned his undergraduate degree from Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Center. We interviewed him about his experiences at UChicago.

Roy Zhao, a second-year PhD student in Physics and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, studies AI application in cosmology and galaxy formation across cosmic time. Born in Beijing, China, Roy spent much of his adolescent years in Vancouver, British Columbia. He earned undergraduate degrees from UCLA and then worked as a staff scientist at UCLA Astronomy before joining the University of Chicago. We interviewed Roy about his experiences here.

Li Ma, AB’06, SM’06, is a professor of Statistics and Data Science at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on generative models, Bayesian modeling and computation, nonparametric inference, tree-based methods, and their applications in biomedical science. Prior to joining UChicago, he was a faculty member in the Department of Statistical Science at Duke University from 2011 to 2025. He is a Fellow of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis and a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Please welcome the faculty joining the Physical Sciences Division in the ’25–26 academic year.

Anna Gaffney, a fifth-year PhD student in the Biophysical Sciences, studies biological thin sheet mechanics and instabilities. Born and raised in Marysville, Michigan, Anna earned her BS in Biophysics at the University of Michigan. We interviewed Anna about her experiences at UChicago.

Hunter Guo, a first-year master’s student in Applied Data Science, studies communication. “The data scientist’s most important skill is not about building a fancy model,” he says, “but about establishing an executable tool that people can use and explaining the concept in a simple language that everyone can understand.” Born in Lanzhou, China, Hunter studied economics at The Ohio State University and then interned at Wells Fargo’s Risk Control team. We interviewed Hunter about his experiences at UChicago.

Born and raised in the very small, rural town of Bunkie, Louisiana, Associate Director of Academic Affairs Carly Bloss began her higher ed career at Louisiana State University. She now works remotely from her home in Lafayette, Louisiana, and looks forward to her trips to campus. We interviewed Carly about her interests and experiences.

Hannah Fry, Associate Director of Major Gifts, grew up in rural northwestern Indiana on a farm not far from Purdue University. “Controversially, I went to Indiana University, where I studied Nonprofit Management.” Before joining the UChicago team, she worked in major gifts fundraising at Johns Hopkins University and Arizona State University. We interviewed Hannah about her interests and experiences.