2026
XENON experiment finds quietest neutrinos ever detected
October 6, 2026
Ultra-sensitive detector designed by UChicago team to search for dark matter captures elusive low-energy neutrino particles from the sun.
A $20 bracelet jams nearby smart speakers using ultrasonic static
October 6, 2026
UChicago researchers built a $20 wrist cuff that jams nearby microphones within three feet using ultrasonic signals.
Vera Rubin Observatory detects one of the smallest and faintest satellite galaxies ever seen — before the telescope’s mission even began
October 6, 2026
Astronomers looking at Vera C. Rubin Observatory test data have discovered 'Aquarius IV', believed to be a brand new satellite galaxy of the Milky Way located 350,000 light-years away.
Skeletal-editing ‘dream’ realized
October 6, 2026
Second-generation C-to-N swap turns the first generation’s failure into a feature.
Polar potential
October 2, 2026
UChicago physicist Zoe Yan proposes a novel method to produce near-perfect quantum building blocks.
How Argonne is supercharging scientific discovery
September 28, 2026
Argonne’s Ian Foster explains how AI will be used to accelerate research.
A University of Chicago computer scientist pushes past a long-standing math barrier
September 28, 2026
For more than 40 years, mathematicians and computer scientists have wrestled with a deceptively simple question: If many overlapping requirements all need to be balanced at once, how evenly can it be done?
MS in Applied Data Science capstone research published in cancers
September 28, 2026
For many graduate students, a capstone project marks the culmination of months of learning. For one team of students in the University of Chicago’s MS in Applied Data Science (MS-ADS) program, it became something even more: peer-reviewed published research in Cancers.
Webb Telescope discovers new molecule, uncovers hidden photochemistry
September 22, 2026
Finding reveals how starlight drives surprising chemistry, offers new way to study alien atmospheres.
University of Chicago researchers share new map of universe thanks to South Pole Telescope
September 21, 2026
An effort led by University of Chicago researchers has provided the sharpest and clearest ever map of mass in the universe.
In 2024, University of Chicago researchers turned discarded bio-oil char into graphite; 8 hours of cooling made crystals 5 times thicker and over 15 times wider
September 21, 2026
US researchers have developed a method to convert plant waste into high-quality graphite. This breakthrough offers a potential domestic source for a critical battery component. The new process involves slow cooling of biochar, creating larger graphite crystals. This sustainable alternative could reduce reliance on imported graphite for electronics. Further development is needed to scale up production and lower costs for commercial use.
David Awschalom wins global breakthrough of the Year Award for interdisciplinary work in molecular and protein qubits
September 21, 2026
Award by Berlin-based Falling Walls Foundation honors high-risk, multi-field leap across quantum, biology, and chemistry.
Harnessing AI to find new materials
September 21, 2026
PhD student Rodrigo Pires Ferreira, co-advised by statistics Asst. Prof. Claire Donnat, uses his talents for problem solving to discover new materials for future technologies.
Free UChicago public lectures celebrate 50 years of discovery with talks on the origins of the universe, dark matter, gravitational waves, and particle physics
September 15, 2026
Half a century ago, scientists at the University of Chicago's Enrico Fermi Institute helped invent a new way to study the universe: by treating the Big Bang itself as a laboratory to explore nature at energy scales unreachable on earth. This fall, nine of the researchers who carry that legacy forward will share what those fifty years have uncovered — from the invisible matter holding galaxies together to the gravitational ripples of colliding black holes.
The series of free public talks by UChicago scientists, “The Compton Lectures: 50 Years of Discovery,” run every Saturday from Oct. 3 through Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. in the Kersten Physics Teaching Center.
UChicago, U of I land $75 million in federal funding for quantum research
September 14, 2026
Teams led by University of Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have received new five-year grants from the National Science Foundation for quantum technology research worth $37.5 million apiece.