News: Research

Climate science has correctly predicted many aspects of the climate system and its response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Recently, discrepancies between the real world and our expectations of regional climate changes have emerged, as have disruptive new computational approaches. Researchers, including Geophysical Sciences Professor Tiffany Shaw, provide an interpretation for the situation, suggesting the field is evolving and that embracing discrepancies is a key path forward.

Physicists from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Chicago have demonstrated a series of ‘odd’ objects that are remarkably good at moving across any terrain they encounter—including uphill and over obstacles placed in their way.

A team in the Department of Computer Science has developed NetDiffusion, a cutting-edge AI-powered framework that generates highly realistic synthetic network traffic.

Prof. Giulia Galli unpacks breakthrough research that probes water's molecular architecture.

MAROON-X, an instrument created by Prof. Jacob Bean's team, finds evidence for planets around famous Barnard’s Star.

Lin Lab provides innovative strategy for combating cancer.

In a new UChicago study, researchers discovered a method to transform an ingredient used in herbal tea to make hydrogel, a substance that can be used for biomedical purposes.

Two young Chinese mathematicians, including associate professor of mathematics Yu Deng, along with an international collaborator, may have solved a century-old problem in fluid mechanics--an area of study that is critical to many engineering fields, including hydraulic systems, the design of dams and bridges, and aerodynamics. [paywall]

UChicago astronomer Jacob Bean is playing a critical role in groundbreaking research of atmospheres on exoplanets.

A UChicago team is creating software to combat AI’s ability to use artists’ work. Computer science professor Ben Zhao sits down with WBEZ Chicago to discuss the project.

A lab at UChicago is protecting artists from theft by a new adversary: the machines.

A new UChicago study from the Department of Computer Science reveals how Netflix’s autoplay feature subtly shapes viewing habits. The research highlights how turning off autoplay resulted in behavioral changes in participants, including reduced viewing time and increased awareness of media consumption.

Chicago’s Adler Planetarium message board hosts conversations between staffers, scholars, and some of the roughly 2.8 million volunteers in Zooniverse, the world’s largest platform for crowdsourced research online. Starting around late 2023, staffers noticed a flurry of uncertainty and discomfort from volunteers centered around machine learning. The Zooniverse team recognized that this discomfort required a larger conversation. A grant from The Kavli Foundation will enable that conversation exploring the ethics of machine learning in citizen science in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP); the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of California, Berkeley; and the National Science Foundation-Simons SkAI Institute.

A team of geologists and mineral physicists at Harvard University, the University of California, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Chicago has found evidence via lab experiments that show the Earth's mantle is far more complex than previously known.

In a new research project, UChicago Prof. Nicolas Dauphas and a team of scientists used rocks gathered during the Apollo missions to learn more about the Moon's origins.