News: Research

2021

In step toward autonomous materials, researchers design patterns in self-propelling liquid crystals

February 19, 2021

New research shows that the movement in liquid crystals can be harnessed and directed, a step toward developing autonomous materials that can sense inputs, amplify signals, and even compute information.

New research shows that the movement in liquid crystals can be harnessed and directed, a step toward developing autonomous materials that can sense inputs, amplify signals, and even compute information.


A famous black hole gets an enormous update

February 19, 2021

illustration of black hole

Prof. Daniel Holz comments on new recalculation of Cygnus X-1’s mass in New York Times


Dark Energy Survey finds new evidence for emerging way to measure dark matter

February 19, 2021

Dark Energy Survey Camera

Yuanyuan Zhang, an astrophysicist with the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, led a study with Dark Energy Survey data of how light from inside galaxy clusters may be linked with dark matter.


McMahon lab uses new metamaterials for studying the oldest light in the universe

February 19, 2021

Top: scientists in an experimental cosmology lab; Bottom: an anti-reflection coated lense for a camera that will be mounted on a telescope

Experimental cosmologist and Assoc. Prof. McMahon and his students developed a new metamaterials-based antireflection coating for the silicon lenses used in cameras that capture the oldest light in the universe.


New Scientist interviews Dan Hooper: What happened at the big bang?

February 15, 2021

Dan Hooper

New Scientist filmed an interview with Dan Hooper: What happened at the big bang? The search for dark matter, cosmic inflation, and other mysteries from the beginning of time.


Random twists of place: How quiet is quantum space-time at the Planck scale?

February 15, 2021

Two men work on a holometer at Fermi Lab

Random twists of place: How quiet is quantum space-time at the Planck scale? Prof. Craig Hogan shares an update on the reconfigured Fermilab Holometer.


Ceramic chips inside meteorites hint at wild days of the early solar system

February 10, 2021

A meteorite sample that contains chondrite

Ceramic chips inside meteorites hint at wild days of the early solar system. Using complex equipment in Nicolas Dauphas' Origins Lab, including a one-of-a-kind patented purification system that the team developed, Justin Hu measured the isotopes for eight different elements inside the chips.


Four decades and millions of stars later, Sloan Digital Sky Survey co-founder retires

February 8, 2021

Rich Kron

Prof. Richard Kron's legacy includes helping to conceive and lead one of the most influential projects to map the sky, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, as well as the creation of the astrophysics major at UChicago and the project to digitize and explore the scientific potential of 100-year-old photographic images of the sky from the Yerkes Observatory. 


Computer scientist Marshini Chetty works to bridge the gap between science and humanity

February 3, 2021

Marshini Chetty on a mountain in South Africa

Computer scientist Marshini Chetty works to bridge the gap between science and humanity


Physics student, Grace Chesmore, led optical measurements for Simons Observatory metamaterial tiles

February 2, 2021

Grace Chesmore in a cosmology laboratory

A Physics student in the McMahon lab, Grace Chesmore, led the optical measurements of new metamaterial tiles to improve the sensitivity of large telescopes at SimonsObservatory. This discovery may yield insights into how the universe began.


New self-assembly method creates bioelectronics out of microscopic structures

January 27, 2021

Close up of a nanotechnology experiment for simulating human tissue interactions with the nervous system.

New self-assembly method creates bioelectronics out of microscopic structures. Scientists in Prof. Bozhi Tian’s lab use a “bottom-up” approach to yield highly customizable bioelectronics.


Cosmologist Brian Nord on his coalition of physicists and computer scientists promoting algorithmic accountability

January 26, 2021

Cosmologist Brian Nord is interviewed by Gizmodo about building a coalition of physicists and computer scientists promoting algorithmic accountability. Nord is a machine learning expert at Fermi National Laboratory who studies strong gravitational lensing and deep learning.


UChicago CS team led by Prof. Nick Feamster receives $1.2M to map the digital divide in Chicago

January 26, 2021

Nick Feamster

UChicago CS team led by Prof. Nick Feamster receives $1.2M to map the digital divide in Chicago. Grant from data.org to fund ‘moonshot’ to bring high-speed internet accessible to all


PUEO mission led by Assoc. Prof. Abigail Vieregg chosen for NASA Pioneers Program

January 26, 2021

Associate Professor Abigail Vieregg

As part of its new Pioneers Program, NASA has chosen four small-scale astrophysics missions for further concept development, including PUEO, a balloon mission led by Assoc. Prof. Abigail Vieregg, that will launch from Antarctica and detect signals from ultra-high energy neutrinos.


PSD in the News - December 2020 and January 2021

January 22, 2021

PSD in white against a maroon background

There were 39 news articles featuring Physical Sciences Division research and accomplishments in December and January. Scientists created the first computational model of the entire virus responsible for COVID-19, pioneered measurements of electricity in cells, and charted the evolution of U.S. energy consumption. Several valued members of PSD were memorialized, including a Nobel lareaute and a graduate student. See highlights below and read the full list.