News: PSD Spotlights

An exchange program between Chicago and Taiwan helps students gain cultural and research experience.

In July 2024, Meghana Ranganathan joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences. Meghana, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, was previously a NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working in their Ice + Climate Group led by Dr. Alexander Robel. The focus of her work was uncovering couplings between brittle and ductile behaviors of ice and their implications for ice sheet change. During that time, she spent three months doing fieldwork in Antarctica. We interviewed Meghana about her interests and experiences.

Originally from Bosnia, Jasna Jackson joined the PSD as Assistant Dean for Budgeting and Financial Planning in July 2024. Before joining the PSD, she served as Director of Budget and Financial Planning and Analysis in UChicago’s Office of Finance and Administration. We interviewed Jasna about her interests and experiences.
 

Please welcome the faculty joining the Physical Sciences Division in the ’24–25 academic year.

Originally from Blue Rapids, Kansas, Assistant Dean of Students Megan Swartz joined the PSD in June 2024 following two years in the Social Sciences Division. Before joining UChicago, she worked at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. We interviewed Megan about her interests and experiences.

"People can come to me for MS admissions and funding questions. You can also come to me if you want to talk about sports, particularly football and baseball!"

Krissy Dulek is a Senior Grants & Contracts Administrator in the Physical Sciences Division at the Local Business Center. We interviewed Krissy about her interests and experiences.

"I spend most of my free time (and paychecks) caring for and rehabilitating animals."

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."

LinLin Jones, MPP’21, is a Grants and Contracts Supervisor in the Physical Sciences Division Local Business Center. She joined the University in 2019 and has a Master of Arts in Public Policy Analysis from UChicago. We interviewed LinLin about her interests and experiences.

Pouya Mahdi Gholami, a fourth-year PhD student in Computer Science, studies adaptive operation and intelligence on energy-limited edge devices.

An interview with Grant Ho, Assistant Professor in Computer Science

In July 2023, Grant Ho joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science. Grant, who grew up in South Florida, received a bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford University and a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley. Before joining UChicago, he was a CSE Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sysnet group at UC San Diego and a visiting researcher at Corelight Labs. We interviewed Grant about his interests and experiences.
 

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."

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

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.

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 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.