News: Research

2023

PSD in the news: March 2023

March 29, 2023

PSD against a white and turquoise background

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 scanning electron microscopy image reveals the beautiful shapes of tiny structures known as MXenes, which are of interest to scientists for new devices and electronics but were previously hard to create. These were grown with a new easier and less toxic

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

side-by-side rendering of Earth and Venus

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

Physical Sciences data map logo

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

Planet visualization

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

Red planet against starry sky, half obscured by darkness

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

Black holes effectively observe elementary particles, an effect that echoes John Wheeler’s ideas about the “participatory universe

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

Photo of Lek Heng Lim in an old University of Chicago building

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

The Webb telescope has spotted galaxies surprisingly far away in space and deep in the past. These four, studied by a team called JADES, are all seen as they appeared less than 500 million years after the Big Bang.

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

PSD against a white and turquoise background

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

Photo of Abigail Vieregg outdoors

Abigail Vieregg, director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, shares her passion for building experiments and bringing people together to solve scientific mysteries.


Deep earthquakes could reveal secrets of the Earth’s mantle

February 22, 2023

Earth sliced in half, showing the different layers of the planet inside.

A new study led by University of Chicago geophysicist Sunyoung Park suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock located in the Earth’s mantle. The study uses 350-mile-deep earthquake to make elusive measurements of the Earth’s layers. 


A chemist who studies the spots where chaos sneaks in

February 20, 2023

Photo of Sarah King's lab. King (at right) works in her lab with graduate student Ruiyu Li (at left).

UChicago Asst. Prof. Sarah King awarded prestigious Cottrell Scholarship, that honors “outstanding teacher-scholars who are recognized by their scientific communities for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their academic leadership skills.”