News: Research

2026

A stable solution

May 11, 2026

a video still of viscous fingers forming

How UChicago physicists delayed the formation of viscous fingers between fluids.


Scientists get best-ever look at distant planet’s surface with Webb telescope

May 11, 2026

An artist’s illustration showing what exoplanet Kua’kua (LHS 3844 b) could look like. The Webb telescope has given us new detail about the surface of this faraway planet—including that it’s likely covered in dark, weathered powder.

Data analyzed by UChicago scientists reveals exoplanet Kua’kua is dark and rocky, offering clues to search for habitable worlds.


Scientists detect radio bursts beneath Antarctic ice that could reveal ghost particles

May 11, 2026

Photo of glaciers.

Physics grad student Nathaniel Alden found that high-energy particle impacts can produce radio flashes from within Antarctic ice.


The time constraints of AI access could change how we think

May 4, 2026

A photo of Jiayin Zhi standing at a lectern presenting her research on the time constraints of AI in front of a projector screen.

Second year PhD student Jiayin Zhi finds that time constraints, as well as when AI access is available, shapes human critical thinking.


Who gets hired, paid, and liked? Who gets credit? New research examines AI’s role in writing and the workplace

May 4, 2026

Interface of Lee and team’s writing assistant providing autocomplete suggestions for evaluating job candidates’ resumes. (Left) In the stereotypical condition, suggestions emphasize female–associated warmth-oriented traits (e.g., approachable, suppo

Research findings show that writing with AI can reduce gender biases in the workplace and that AI disclosure is complex and can impact authorial perception.


Earth Day 2026: The latest sustainability advancements from UChicago PME

May 4, 2026

Hilal Daglar, a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Chemistry Department Prof. Laura Gagliardi, is first author of a new paper that outlined a new method for excluding water when using covalen

In a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), a team led by Prof. Laura Gagliardi outlined a new method for excluding water when using covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to build carbon capture materials.


A group of students discovers a tiny star with almost no metals that shouldn’t be in the Milky Way

May 2, 2026

A photo of a starry sky.

A tiny star with almost no metals has just been found in the Milky Way, but it’s from somewhere else entirely.


Eight university teams to vie for Laude Institute’s $10 million AI moonshots

May 2, 2026

Eight multidisciplinary teams have been selected as finalists for a $10 million artificial Intelligence grant from the Laude Institute.

UChicago Data Science Institute faculty as one of eight teams receiving a Laude Institute Moonshots seed grant.


Fermilab experiment receives prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

May 2, 2026

The Muon g-2 magnetic ring arrived at Fermilab from Long Island in one piece. The move took 35 days and traversed 3,200 miles over land and sea.

The Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab received the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics for its precision measurement of the muon. Young-Kee Kim attended the ceremony as Emeritus Director of Fermilab.


A quieter world for quantum

April 30, 2026

Scientific illustration of a qubit

Researchers, including a Physics postdoc and a Physics grad student, found that a novel qubit platform, invented at Argonne, exhibits noise levels thousands of times lower than those of most traditional qubits. The finding positions the platform as a strong contender in the quantum technology field.


Going the distance

April 29, 2026

Atreyie Ghosh (left) and Sarah King

UChicago chemists “film” long-range light-matter hybrid particles.


AI suit teaches you new skills by taking control of your muscles

April 27, 2026

The suit uses electrical pulses to guide muscles through tasks the wearer has never performed before.

An AI-powered suit created by UChicago researchers combines a wearable electrode suit, smart glasses with a built-in camera, a motion-tracking layer, and a multimodal AI model capable of processing both vision and language, the same class of technology as GPT-4.1. The suit physically moves a user's muscles in real time, adapting to whatever task is in front of them, with no pre-programmed routine required.


Could AI help us be more thoughtful voters?

April 27, 2026

People standing in front of an American flag and behind voting booths.

UChicago researchers launch civic chatbot to educate and challenge voters on political views, ballot measures and more
 


University of Chicago announces partnership with AI Research Commons and Microsoft to accelerate Midwest AI startups

April 27, 2026

A photo of the University of Chicago campus.

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Data Science Institute announced a new partnership with AI Research Commons (ARC), Microsoft, and NVIDIA to identify and support high-potential, early-stage artificial intelligence startups emerging from Third Coast Foundry universities.
 


US lab unlocks secrets of superconductors that ensure no energy is lost during electricity flow

April 19, 2026

Small differences in how atoms are arranged in a crystalline lattice can strongly affect superconductivity.

Superconductors allow electricity to flow without resistance, meaning no energy is lost as heat.