2023
Incoming planetary sciences postdoctoral researcher selected for the Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellowship
April 3, 2023
Fellowship provides exceptional postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.
JWST finds a ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet that defies expectations
March 29, 2023
Assoc. Prof. Jacob Bean comments on the newly discovered exoplanet Smertrios and its surprising atmospheric composition.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
PSD in the news: March 2023
March 29, 2023
This month PSD researchers have been recognized for their pioneering discoveries, the quality and innovation of their research programs, and their unique contributions to new fields of inquiry.
UChicago scientists discover easy way to make atomically thin metal layers for new technology
March 24, 2023
A new breakthrough by UChicago scientists shows how to make MXenes far more quickly and easily, with fewer toxic byproducts. Researchers hope the discovery, published March 24 in Science, will spur new innovation and pave the way towards using MXenes in everyday electronics and devices.
Image by Di Wang
New study casts doubt that Venus was ever habitable
March 23, 2023
By examining the composition of Venus’ atmosphere today and running simulations of its past to recreate those conditions, UChicago researchers found very few scenarios in which Venus could have sustained liquid water and moderate temperatures for long.
Images by NASA/JPL
Scientists use lasers to recreate ‘twisted’ superconducting material
March 21, 2023
New research by Prof. Cheng Chin at UChicago and Shanxi University discovered a way to simulate superconductivity that occurs when two sheets of graphene are slightly twisted as they are layered.
Is it a fossil? Is it a beehive?
March 14, 2023
New Scientist article discusses Asst. Prof. Pedro Lopes and graduate student Jasmine Lu's work to create a smartwatch that is partly made of slime mold, a living entity that must be fed adequately and often enough or the watch will stop working.
Long-sought math proof unlocks more mysterious ‘modular forms’
March 9, 2023
Quanta Magazine discusses Prof. Frank Calegari's co-authored paper that provided proof of the unbounded denominators conjecture.
Image: Jaynelon/Quanta Magazine
Origin of life group debuts at AAAS
March 9, 2023
Researchers from UChicago, ETH Zurch, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard have formed an international, interdisciplinary collaborative to explore how life evolved on Earth and, possibly, other planets.
New study shows Venus likely didn’t have ancient oceans for long
March 8, 2023
Assoc. Prof. Edwin Kite and graduate student Alexandra Warren work to model the history of Venus' atmosphere.
Image: Inverse/Shutterstock
Black holes will destroy all quantum states, researchers argue
March 7, 2023
Prof. Robert M. Wald discusses new research findings and his studies under celebrated theoretical physicist John Wheeler.
Image: Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine
An applied mathematician with an unexpected toolbox
March 2, 2023
Lek-Heng Lim uses tools from algebra, geometry and topology to answer questions in machine learning.
No, the James Webb Space Telescope Hasn’t Broken Cosmology
February 27, 2023
Prof. Wendy Freedman is exploring how JWST observations can be squared with the standard cosmological model.
PSD in the News - February 2023
February 24, 2023
This month PSD researchers have been recognized for their pioneering discoveries, the quality and innovation of their research programs, and their unique contributions to new fields of inquiry.
Solving astrophysical problems by hand
February 23, 2023
Abigail Vieregg, director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, shares her passion for building experiments and bringing people together to solve scientific mysteries.