2022
PSD in the News - December 2022
December 31, 2022

This month PSD researchers were featured in the news for climate research findings that the Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern, creating a living smartwatch that runs on slime, and seminal contributions to the development of a quantum internet.
University of Chicago scientist explains fusion ignition, what it means for future of clean energy
December 23, 2022

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California was the first to successfully replicate the process of how the sun makes energy, on earth –nuclear fusion ignition. UChicago Astronomy & Astrophysics professor Dr. Don Lamb helped develop a computer code to do experiments on the kind of lasers like the one used to achieve fusion ignition.
Suzuki Postdoctoral Fellowship Award 2022-2023
December 21, 2022

Two postdocs, Yanzeng Li and Alexander Strang, have been named recipients of the 2022-2023 Suzuki Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. Yuji Suzuki, SM’70, a longtime supporter and former Council member of the Physical Sciences Division, established the Yuji and Lorraine Suzuki Postdoctoral Research Fund in 2016 to recognize outstanding postdoctoral researchers. The award provides a salary top-off.
This Smart Device Is A Living Organism That Changed The Users Interaction
December 20, 2022

UChicago Ph.D. student Jasmine Lu and Assistant Professor of Computer Science Pedro Lopes built a smartwatch that runs on Physarum Polycephalum, a species of slime mold.
The quantum internet, explained
December 16, 2022

As part of The Day Tomorrow Began, UChicago News explains the meaning of quantum internet—a network of quantum computers that will someday send, compute, and receive information encoded in quantum states.
The physicist who finds fundamental truths in spilled coffee
December 15, 2022

Sidney Nagel, the Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, is accepting the 2023 American Physical Society Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research. The award, sometimes referred to as the ‘lifetime achievement Oscar of physics,’ recognizes “contributions of the highest level that advance our knowledge and understanding of the physical universe in all its facets.”
How star collisions forge the universe’s heaviest elements
December 14, 2022

Sanjana Curtis, a postdoc in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, wrote an article for Scientific American describing new evidence on how cosmic cataclysms forge gold, platinum, and other heavy members of the periodic table.
Professor Fred Chong named IEEE Fellow
December 12, 2022

Fred Chong, the Seymour Goodman Professor in the Department of Computer Science, was elevated to IEEE Fellow in the organization’s 2023 class. The distinction was given to Chong for “contributions to the field of quantum computer architecture, compilation and optimization.”
Why quantum tech will change our future: The Day Tomorrow Began with Prof. Awschalom
December 12, 2022

In this Big Brains podcast episode with Prof. David Awschalom, Dept. of Physics, explore how foundational discoveries at UChicago have shaped quantum research.
Guest post: Why the Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern
December 12, 2022

Climate scientist Tiffany Shaw explains why the southern hemisphere is stormier than its northern neighbor. Also, the southern hemisphere is getting even stormier over time, whereas the north is not. This is consistent with what climate models simulate for a warming world.
The Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern, and we finally know why
December 6, 2022

A new study led by climate scientist Tiffany Shaw explains the Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern, by about 24%, and asymmetry has increased since the 1980’s. Ocean circulation and the large mountain ranges in the Northern Hemisphere are the culprits.
Drawing on research: Chemist Bozhi Tian’s art and science recast reality
December 1, 2022

Dept. of Chemistry Prof. Bozhi Tian’s artwork melds "scenes of nature with hints of technology, much as his research merges biological and synthetic systems." Read more about his artwork and research in UChicago Magazine.
University of Chicago highlighted in French state visit to U.S.
December 1, 2022

The University of Chicago and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) signed an agreement on Nov. 30 to establish the International Research Center for Fundamental Scientific Discovery (IRC Discovery).
Dr. Bryan Dickinson wins the 2022 ACS Chemical Biology Young Investigator Award
December 1, 2022

Assoc. Prof. Bryan Dickinson, Dept. of Chemistry, was awarded the ACS Chemical Biology Young Investigator Award. He was cited for his novel means to perturb, probe, or control numerous important biological regulatory programs spanning from the lipid signaling to epitranscriptome and RNA targeting.
UChicago receives $10 million for new Pritzker Plant Biology Center
November 30, 2022

A $10m gift to UChicago from the Margot and Tom Pritzker Foundation will establish the Pritzker Plant Biology Center on the University’s Hyde Park campus. It will be led by Prof. Chuan He, Dept. of Chemistry, and will bolster efforts in investigating pathways promoting plant growth and crop yields to combat global problems like food supply, drought, and climate change.