News: Research

2022

Geophysical scientists invited onto NASA’s Curiosity rover mission as participating scientists, will choose targets for three year period

February 21, 2022

NASA has selected University of Chicago associate professor of geophysical sciences, Edwin Kite, to join the Mars Curiosity rover mission as a participating scientist. Kite, along with fourth-year Ph.D. student Sasha Warren, hopes to expand the rover science team’s understanding of climate history on Mars.


Sloan Fellow Pedro Lopes interviewed from HCI Lab

February 17, 2022

Film still of computer scientist Pedro Lopes being interviewed by two anchors on FOX32 news

Newly announced Sloan Fellow Asst. Prof. Pedro Lopes, Department of Computer Science, was interviewed about his human computer integration research by FOX32 Chicago.


Beagle supercomputer gets a GPU-based upgrade thanks to $2M NIH grant

February 16, 2022

Close up of Beagle computing cluster at UChicago

Amgen Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Benoit Roux is leading the effort to build a supercomputing cluster to explore structure and dynamics of biological systems.


A unique material transmits heat in one direction and blocks it in another

February 9, 2022

Jiwoong Park

An interview with Prof. Jiwoong Park, Department of Chemistry, who talks about his group’s newly engineered crystalline material that is an excellent transmitter of heat in the x-y plane but a thermal insulator in the z plane.


UChicago scientists create strange quantum ‘domain walls’ in laboratory

February 8, 2022

Image of a quantum phenomenon known as a

Prof. Cheng Chin’s lab has been able to create a new kind of quantum object at will in the laboratory: “domain walls.” At extremely low temperatures, groups of atoms can segregate into domains, and a “wall” forms at the junction where they met.


UChicago researchers set record by preserving quantum states for more than five seconds

February 3, 2022

Two students in a quantum tech research lab build hardware

A team led by Prof. David Awschalom of physics has achieved two major breakthroughs to overcome common “coherence” challenges for quantum systems: They were able to read out their qubit on demand, and then keep the quantum state intact for over five seconds—a new record for this class of devices. Additionally, the researchers’ qubits are made from an easy-to-use material called silicon carbide, which is widely found in lightbulbs, electric vehicles, and high-voltage electronics.


Robot-aided assembly could help scientists speed pace of discovery for new technologies

February 2, 2022

A conceptual rendition of “robots” stacking thin films on an assembly line.

A new technique in the field of 2D materials led by Dept. of Chemistry and PME Prof. Jiwoong Park cuts fragile sheets of nanomaterials and uses a robotic hand to stack them in layers that can demonstrate targeted interactions. The automation can be customized and optimized.


PSD Polsky Fall 2021 I-Corps teams tackle unmet medical needs, data transparency

January 28, 2022

UChicago members at a tech transfer reception

An open data platform journalists check, ordering an accurate 3D printed model of your tumor, or cardiac pacing solutions based on light in semiconductors. Market innovations born in PSD labs get tackled by cross campus expertise.


In the News - January 2022

January 27, 2022

PSD against a white and turquoise background

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to mitigate the noise problem on quantum computers, to use doppler calculations to make a new map of twelve streams of stars orbiting our galactic halo, and to improve control over vacancies in silicon carbide used for quantum devices.


Scientists simulate ‘fingerprint’ of noise on quantum computer

January 26, 2022

A gold quantum computer against a black background

Scientists from the UChicago and Purdue University, including Professor of Chemistry David Mazziotti, collaborated on a new technique to construct a unique “fingerprint” of the noise on a quantum computer as it is seen by a program run on the computer. This approach, they say, shows promise for mitigating the noise problem—as well as suggesting ways that users could actually turn noise to their advantage.


PSD research in self-assembling granular matter to be highlighted at APS 2022

January 25, 2022

Robot invented at UChicago that demonstrates how granular soft matter self assembles

Soft matter physics research in granular matter clusters that assemble and diassemble will be present by sixth-year physics student, Melody Lim, and research scientist, Baudouin Saintvyes, both of Jaeger lab, at the APS 2022 Meeting taking place in downtown Chicago, March 14-18.


Doomsday Clock remains at 100 seconds to midnight—closest ever to apocalypse

January 20, 2022

An image of the face of the Doomsday Clock with hands positioned 100 seconds to midnight

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Jan. 20 that the hands of the Doomsday Clock—which resides on campus and was started by members of the Manhattan Project—remain at 100 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to apocalypse. The Bulletin cited disinformation, global security threats including ‘nuclear saber rattling,’ lack of actionable climate policies, disruptive technology and insufficient worldwide COVID-19 response.


Computer scientists eliminate pesky quantum computations

January 20, 2022

An illustration of a locomotive pulling train cars, with math symbols piled in the caboose

The work of computer scientists Bill Fefferman and Zachary Remscrim is discussed, as theories change regarding how hard it is to make intermediate measurements to quantify the complexity of quantum algorithms.


How to transform vacancies into quantum information

January 12, 2022

Aided by sophisticated computational tools, the MICCoM team reaped a harvest of pivotal discoveries that should pave the way for new quantum devices.

Aided by sophisticated computational tools, the MICCoM team led by Prof. Giulia Galli reaped a harvest of pivotal discoveries that should pave the way for new quantum devices, like greatly improved control over the formation of vacancies in silicon carbide used for realizing qubits in quantum devices.


Twelve for dinner: How the Milky Way ‘ate’ smaller star clusters and galaxies

January 11, 2022

Artist’s representation of our Milky Way galaxy surrounded by dozens of stellar streams (highlighted in different colors).

Astronomers including Asst. Prof. Alex Ji are one step closer to revealing dark matter enveloping our Milky Way galaxy, thanks to a new map of twelve streams of stars orbiting within our galactic halo. Using doppler calculations, the scientists measured the speeds of stars and their chemical compositions, telling us where they were born.