News: Research

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.

Students in the College, Zihni Baykara and Macallan Maedke, and graduate students, Kaeli Hughes and Rostom Mbarek have been honored by the Enrico Fermi Institute with Nathan Sugarman Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate and Graduate Research. 

Chemistry Prof. Giulia Galli and scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago performed quantum simulations of spin defects — impurities in materials that could offer a promising basis for new quantum technologies — and improved the accuracy of calculations on quantum computers.

A new study led by geophysical scientist Edwin Kite examines the tracks of Martian rivers to see what they can reveal about the history of the planet’s water and atmosphere.