News: PSD Spotlights

2024

PSD Spotlight: Britni Ratliff

February 21, 2024

Britni Ratliff

Britni Ratliff is the Director of STEM Pedagogy for the Physical Sciences Division, Associate Master for the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division, and Senior Instructional Professor in the Chemistry Department.

"It is a unique privilege to work directly with PSD students as they discover their passions and carve out their academic paths."


Behind the byline

February 14, 2024

Katrina Miller illustration

Physicist Katrina Miller, SM’18, PhD’23, revived her childhood love of writing to forge a career in science journalism.


Alumni Spotlight: Dixin Tang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at UT Austin

February 9, 2024

Dixin Tang

2020 PhD graduate Dixin Tang has just begun a rewarding career at UT Austin as an assistant professor of computer science. Tang took a look back at his time at UChicago, including the professors that made a lasting impact, his involvement with ChiData, and what has made all the difference in his current role.


Meet Alice Luna, Astronomy and Astrophysics

January 31, 2024

Alice Luna

Currently a third-year PhD student in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Alice Luna has been analyzing spectroscopic data from telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory to study the metallicity distributions of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies that provide archaeological access to the first stars and galaxies.


An intellectual environment

January 15, 2024

Guillaume Bal

An interview with the new Director of the Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics

Guillaume Bal, Professor of Statistics and Mathematics, was named the Director of the Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics (CCAM), starting July 1, 2023. In this Q&A, he discusses his priorities for the committee, areas of potential growth, and his vision for collaboration.


PSD Spotlight: Josh Kurutz

January 3, 2024

Josh Kurutz

The PSD January Spotlight is Josh Kurutz, NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Facility Manager, Chemistry Department.

"My most recent but ill-fated creative project was a ballet about chemical elements."


2023

Alumni Spotlight: Get to know Emily Wenger, a 2023 CS graduate who was just named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List

November 29, 2023

Emily Wenger

Emily Wenger, a 2023 PhD graduate from Appleton, Wisconsin, is making a name for herself in a big way. She was just named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2024 for her work on Glaze: a tool that allows artists to shield their work from AI mimicry.


PSD Spotlight: Miranda Redenbaugh

November 10, 2023

Miranda Redenbaugh with elephant

PSD's November spotlight is Miranda Redenbaugh, Assistant Director of Communications, Dept. of Computer Science


Records reveal hidden history of female astronomers at Yerkes Observatory

November 9, 2023

Astronomer at the 40-inch refractor telescope of Yerkes Observatory under the 90-foot dome.

UChicago team chronicles dozens of women who worked and made discoveries in early 20th century.


A delicate balance

November 9, 2023

Ngô Bảo Châu

An interview with the new chair of Mathematics

Ngô Bảo Châu, the Francis and Rose Yuen Distinguished Service Professor, was named the Department of Mathematics chair, starting July 1, 2023. In this Q&A, he discusses his priorities for the department, the exciting work of his colleagues, and his vision for collaboration.


If you can’t stand the heat …

November 8, 2023

illustration of Sandra Greer

A new book by Chemistry alumna Sandra Greer, SM’68, PhD’69, brings hard science to the kitchen.


CS Alumni Spotlight: Andrew McNutt

November 3, 2023

Andrew McNutt

CS alumnus Andrew McNutt talks visualization career, lessons from UChicago, and the road from PhD to tenure track at University of Utah.


Meet Isabella Scott, Math

November 2, 2023

Isabella Scott

Isabella Scott, born in San Francisco and brought up between there and London, earned a BSc in Pure Maths from the University of St Andrews. They are now a 6th-year PhD student in Math, studying mathematical logic, “which sort of studies the ‘mathematics of mathematics’.”


Meet Mohit Verma, Physics

September 28, 2023

Mohit Verma

Mohit Verma, who grew up in Toronto, is a fourth-year PhD student in Physics. His research is in experimental atomic physics with the goal of probing new physics beyond the standard model.


Meet Annie Xie, Statistics

September 21, 2023

Annie Xie

Annie Xie grew up in Guilford, CT. She’s in her third year at UChicago as a PhD student in Statistics, where she has been working to develop statistical methods for analyzing and identifying patterns in genetics data.