News: Students

2026

Scientists discover ‘most chemically pristine’ star yet found in the universe

April 13, 2026

An artist's conception of the red giant star SDSS J0915-7334, which was born near the Large Magellanic Cloud and has now journeyed to reside in the Milky Way.

On trip to Chilean telescope, UChicago undergrad class sheds new light on evolution of earliest stars.


UChicago CS team qualified for 2026 ICPC World Final championships in Dubai

April 13, 2026

The 2026 International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) North America Championship (NAC) hosted by University of Central Florida – March 18-23 – The top teams from the ICPC NAC 2026 will advance to the 2026 ICPC World Finals

Back-to-back successes cap a championship run for team “pocpocpoc”, consisting of undergraduates Bach Tran, Hung Pham, and Long Nguyen.
 


When AI meets muscle: context-aware electrical stimulation promises a new way to guide human movements

April 13, 2026

Common in parts of Europe, windows often use a “tilt-turn” mechanism, which can be opened vertically or horizontally. In this case, the user only wants to open by tilting the top portion of the window. By recognizing the location and object, our syste

A new system from Yun Ho, Romain Nith, and Pedro Lopes combines AI and electrical muscle stimulation to physically guide users through unfamiliar tasks—marking a leap toward general-purpose, context-aware embodied assistance.
 


Winter 2026 Capstone Showcase highlights innovative data science projects

April 4, 2026

Pickleball paddle.

The Winter 2026 Capstone Showcase for the University of Chicago’s Master’s in Applied Data Science (MS-ADS) program featured 14 student teams presenting projects that applied data science to real-world challenges.


Mapping the new rules of “AI slop”: How social media platforms are managing AI-generated content

April 4, 2026

An Instagram post by BBCnewsindia that shows the fake, AI generated photos of Zendaya’s wedding

Third-year PhD student Lan Gao studies how social platforms govern a changing online ecosystem.


Students highlight the 130-year history of UChicago physicists and their books

March 24, 2026

Architectural drawing of the University of Chicago's Ion Accelerator Building

The University of Chicago Library exhibit "Binding Energy: Books by Chicago Physics Faculty" explores the work of researchers from Enrico Fermi to the only woman on the Pile-1 team.


Farmer’s Fridge shares career and industry insights with UChicago Data Science Society

March 24, 2026

The Data Science Institute hosted Taylor Marx (MS-ADS ‘17), Head of Enterprise Data at Farmer’s Fridge and UChicago alum, for a talk with the undergraduate Data Science Society earlier this month.

MS-ADS alum and Head of Enterprise Data Taylor Marx spoke with students about his career at the innovative Midwestern startup.


University of Chicago PhD student Riki Otaki receives MongoDB PhD Fellowship Award

March 24, 2026

Photo of Riki Otaki.

Fourth-year PhD student Riki Otaki receives the prestigious MongoDB PhD Fellowship for his work making data systems more efficient and scalable.


How Chicago robot tutors are teaching SEL effectively–without pretending to be human

March 24, 2026

A pair of high tech goggles with eyes upon them.

Chicago researchers, teachers, and curriculum leaders partnered to test if robots need fictional personalities to boost students’ social-emotional learning. Their results show that honest, factual robots can effectively supplement classroom instruction—challenging conventions and illuminating a new, ethical path for educational technology. The study was honored with the Best Paper Award at the prestigious 2026 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction.
 


Could AI help us be more thoughtful voters?

March 24, 2026

Chenhao Tan (Faculty Co-Director of Novel Intelligence at the DSI and Associate Professor of Computer Science and Data Science) and his team have launched CivicChats, an AI platform designed to help voters engage more critically and thoughtfully with ball

UChicago researchers launch civic chatbot to educate and challenge voters.
 


NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the ‘eye of the storm’ swirling around supermassive black holes

March 2, 2026

(Main) An illustration of the supermassive black hole M87* (Inset) the NASA/JAXA mission XRISM

Scientists have dived deeper into the "eye of the storm" swirling around supermassive black holes than ever before. This unprecedented investigation of the turbulent and violent conditions around these cosmic titans, including the first black hole ever imaged by humanity, was possible thanks to the joint Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA)/ NASA X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM).
 


From India to University of Chicago: how studying in the US transformed my academic & personal journey

March 2, 2026

Photo of Rahul Kukreja.

Rahul Kukreja, pursuing an MS in Statistics at the University of Chicago, shares his transformative journey from India to the US. He highlights academic rigor, the fast-paced quarter system, cultural adjustment, emotional resilience, and building networks. Beyond studies, he learned self-reliance, cooking, and the value of relationships, emphasizing growth through challenges and curiosity.


This spring at UChicago: TEI’26 unites technology, art, and design on campus

March 2, 2026

This March, the University of Chicago will become a crossroads for researchers, designers, artists, and technologists from around the world as it hosts the 20th ACM Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, TEI’26, from March 8–11, 2

This March, the University of Chicago will become a crossroads for researchers, designers, artists, and technologists from around the world as it hosts the 20th ACM Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, TEI’26, from March 8–11, 2026. For UChicago students, faculty, and staff, it’s a chance to engage with leaders at the forefront of human-computer interaction and help celebrate two decades of innovation in tangible, embedded, and embodied technologies.


UChicago scientists find better way to make infrared light—using quantum dots

March 2, 2026

University of Chicago scientists created tiny structures that use quantum dots to emit infrared light much more efficiently than previous methods. Above, a row of the tiny “bow-tie” structures revealed by electron microscopy.

New infrared light sources mark 100-fold efficiency boost, could improve broad range of sensors, technology.


U.S. weather and climate disasters could top $1 trillion by 2030

March 2, 2026

Cars and people moving through flooded streets.

Analyzing NOAA's billion-dollar weather disaster database, a UChicago-led study projects sharply rising costs driven by climate change and expanding development.