News: Research

Prof. Wenbin Lin and researcher Zhe Li co-authored new research identifying a path to drive the direct photosynthesis of methanol.

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to understand why Mars dried out, expand and activate the Chicagoland quantum network, and analyze samples from asteroid Ryugu collected by Hayabusa2.

In an interdisciplinary discussion hosted by Chicago Booth Review, UChicago scholars Wilma A. Bainbridge and Alexander Todorov join Prof. Ben Zhao of computer science to discuss biases relating to faces and the implications of facial recognition technology.

After two years of remote participation, the 2022 DSI Summer Lab will bring 49 high school, undergraduate, and master’s students to Chicago for a ten-week immersion into data science research.

Solar wind is composed of charged particles and the sun’s magnetic field and is continually released from our star. Explore the phenomenon discovered by Professor Emeritus Eugene Parker, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation has released the first episode of a new podcast series, Carry the Two. Hosted by Sadie Witkowski and Ian Martin, episode one tackles using mathematical tools to examine STEM policy documents, specifically addressing EDI.

UChicago EPIC, co-founded by Prof. Bob Rosner, found that particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy. This impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism.

A new 35-mile extension has been built upon Argonne National Laboratory’s already 89-mile (144-kilometer) quantum loop, launched in 2020. The total network now connects to the South Side of Chicago, putting the city at the heart of one of the largest quantum networks in the country and further solidifying the region as a leading global hub for quantum research.

Asst. Prof Alex Ji, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, is the co-author of the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S5) map that aims to probe the secrets of stellar streams, or shredded remains of neighbouring small galaxies and star clusters, that are being torn apart by the Milky Way. 

An inaugural cohort of a dozen students will join quantum research labs around the Midwest this June, planting the seeds for a diverse and inclusive quantum workforce.

Roland Winston, formerly chair of the UChicago Department of Physics, will be retiring from UC Merced this summer at age 86. Winston is a pioneer of efficiently harnessing solar radiation as an energy source. He was a student and faculty member in PSD from 1952 until 2003.

UChicago geochemists Nicolas Dauphas, Andrew Davis, and Reika Yokochi are part of a team assembled to help Japanese researchers analyze samples from asteroid Ryugu collected by Hayabusa2. The pristine rock is similar to a class of meteorites known as “Ivuna-type carbonaceous chondrites” and are thought to date back to the very beginnings of the solar system.

UChicago scientists invented an entirely new way to make a solar cell: by etching holes in the top layer to make it porous. The innovation could form the basis for a less-invasive pacemaker, or similar medical devices.

Prof. Guangbin Dong has been named a 2022 Blavatnik National Awards Finalist in Chemistry. From the group of 31 finalists, three winners—in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences & engineering—will be named on June 29. The honorees were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 309 nominees from 150 leading universities and scientific institutions from 38 states across the United States.

This month PSD researchers have been featured for their efforts to capture the first image of the Milky Way's massive black hole, map the digital divide affecting connectivity across the country, and use computer simulations to understand the world's deadliest viruses.