News: Research

2022

Scientists discover way to target ‘undruggable’ molecules involved in cancer

November 3, 2022

illustration of the structure of the molecule as it clamps onto DNA

UChicago chemist Raymond Moellering is in a group that has created an innovative way to build synthetic molecules that can target these previously “undruggable” transcription factors. The breakthrough holds promise for drugs and treatments as well as tools to better understand cancer biology.


UChicago AI Summit examines promise and concerns for science and society

November 3, 2022

AI Summit panelists talking

The Summit on AI in Society, organized in October by the Institute on the Formation of Knowledge (IFK), featured several UChicago CS speakers alongside social scientists, artists, policy experts, historians, and philosophers.


Diana Franklin talks K-12 quantum ed on Entangled Things podcast

November 2, 2022

Entangled Things podcast logo, black with quantum waves in rainbow

Assoc. Prof. Diana Franklin, Dept. of Computer Science, was interviewed by the podcast Entangled Things about K-12 education in quantum, suspension of disbelief, and ways to communicate quantum topics to broader audiences.


Scientists discover a potential ​‘diamond factory’ near the center of the Earth

November 2, 2022

Earth core vivisection

Scientists working with UChicago GeoSoilEnviroCARS (GSECARS) beamline used an X-ray beam, laser techniques and high-resolution spectroscopy tools to simulate the extreme conditions at Earth’s core-mantle boundary. They found that unlike rusting at Earth’s surface, carbon comes out of the liquid iron metal alloy and forms diamond.


A quantum-computing startup gets big-name backing

November 2, 2022

Ethernet cables

Former Motorola CEO Chris Galvin invests in and joins the board of ColdQuanta, which acquired Prof. Fred Chong’s UChicago-born quantum startup Super.tech.


Advanced nanoparticles provide new weapon to fight difficult cancers

November 1, 2022

Nanoparticle creation illustration

Researchers including chemist Wenbin Lin use nanoparticles to deliver a bacterially derived compound that targets the STING pathway to suppress tumor growth and metastasis by disrupting blood vessels and stimulating immune response.


Blocking sounds could help you experience VR in a more immersive way

October 31, 2022

A woman wearing VR goggles reaches to the sky

Assoc. Prof. Pedro Lopes, Dept. of Computer Science, and his team have developed a hardware prototype to keep users enveloped in a virtual experience. The small box attached to a VR headset detects distractions like winds or a sudden ray of sunshine hitting one's skin.


UChicago researchers take inspiration from soil to create new material with promise for medical, biofuel technology

October 28, 2022

a microscopic view of a soil-like material appearing pink and white against a blue background

Chemist Bozhi Tian’s latest experiment mimics the structure of soil to create materials that can interact with their environment, with promise for electronics, medicine, and biofuel technology.


Spray-on ‘metallic’ plastic could be used for wearable electronics

October 27, 2022

Chemist John Anderson reaches towards equipment in his science lab

Assoc. Prof. John Anderson of chemistry has discovered a material that can be made like plastic, but conducts electricity more like metal. The breakthrough could point to a new class of materials for electronics, devices.


Discovering the highest energy particles from the top of the Greenland Ice Sheet

October 27, 2022

Kaeli Hughes and Abigail Vieregg at White Mountain Research Station in California

Prof. Abigail Vieregg, Depts. of Physics and Astronomy and Astrophysics, has been awarded $1.25M from the Moore Foundation for instrumentation development to advance the detection of the highest energy neutrinos in ice sheets and build a more complete picture of the dynamic high-energy universe.
 


PSD in the news - October 2022

October 26, 2022

PSD against a white and turquoise background

This month PSD researchers were featured for their efforts to test an unhackable internet, develop metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to transform cancer treatments, and design and build the next generation telescope called CMB-S4.


New technique to determine age will open new era of planetary science, researchers say

October 26, 2022

meteorite close up

A group with UChicago and the Field Museum tested an instrument made by Thermo Fisher Scientific on a piece of a Martian meteorite and were able to accurately and easily date the rock using strontium isotopes.


New Schmidt Futures fellowship at UChicago to foster next generation of AI-driven scientists

October 26, 2022

Prof. Rebecca Willett (center) will serve as the faculty lead of the new fellowship program. Profs. David Freedman (left) and Joshua Frieman will serve as faculty co-leads.

A new University of Chicago initiative, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship, a program of Schmidt Futures, will train the next generation of scientists combining research in both AI and science fields, including physics, astronomy and biology.


New UpDown Project uses “intelligent data movement” to accelerate graph analytics

October 25, 2022

A figure from computer science research on speeding up graphing analytics

With a $9.2 million grant from IARPA, Andrew A. Chien will lead a team of UChicago CS researchers building the UpDown System, a new approach that could speed up graph analytics a hundredfold.


UChicago research tests whether robots or humans are better game partners

October 25, 2022

Participants played with either (a) a robot game guide or (b) a human game guide in a series of games and puzzles.

Students Ting-Han Lin and Spencer Ng together with Asst. Prof. Sarah Sebo, Dept. of Computer Science, presented research inspired by interactive amusement park animatronics and escape rooms to test people’s preferences for human versus robot game guides.