News: 2025

February

Chicago lab connects computers with the human body

February 4, 2025

Icon of human and robot arm

UChicago Associate Professor of Computer Science Pedro Lopes leads the Human-Computer Integration Lab. In this new interview, Lopes and his team show the potential of new technologies and AI to help enhance peoples' capabilities.


January

Fred Chong from the Department of Computer Science named ACM Fellow for contributions to quantum computing

January 28, 2025

Portrait of Prof. Fred Chong

Fred Chong, Seymour Goodman Professor of Computer Science, has been named an ACM Fellow for his groundbreaking work in quantum computer architecture, compilation, and optimization.


‘Think independently, don’t be shy about standing out’: Prof Yamuna Krishnan to aspiring women scientists

January 28, 2025

UChicago Prof. Yamuna Krishnan reflects on concerns related to inadequate women representation in science and current state of India's research ecosystem.


Rethinking AI as a thought partner: Perspectives on writing, programming, and more

January 28, 2025

Photo of Assistant Professor Mina Lee

In a recent study, CS Assistant Professor Mina Lee collaborated with scientists from universities around the world to explore the role of Bayesian frameworks in the design of complementary AI.


Gravitational waves offer a ‘cosmic DNA test’ for black holes

January 28, 2025

Animation of a black hole

A new study has found a novel way to understand the ancestry of supermassive black holes. UChicago researcher Thomas Callister participated in the newly published research.


Doomsday Clock moves closest ever to apocalypse—at 89 seconds to midnight

January 28, 2025

Doomsday Clock 2025 announcement

The Doomsday Clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its 78-year history. 

The Doomsday Clock’s time is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates. Factors included nuclear weapons threats, the climate crisis, biological threats, and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).


Yamuna Krishnan receives 2025 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award

January 24, 2025

Yamuna Krishnan

Yamuna Krishnan, the Louis Block Professor of Chemistry and the College, has received the 2025 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award. The Divisional honor provides unrestricted seed funds for intellectually exciting and innovative research ventures that enable new research directions.

Krishnan has pioneered the application of DNA nanotechnology to cell biology, deploying nanodevices as fluorescent reporters, thereby revealing the chemistry within sub-compartments of cells called organelles.


Faculty Focus: Kexin Pei

January 22, 2025

Kexin Pei

Kexin Pei is a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Computer Science. His research interest lies at the intersection of security, software engineering, and machine learning.


New method improves quantum chemistry simulations

January 22, 2025

Photo of Prof. Gagliardi

UChicago chemist Laura Gagliardi and a collaborator at the University of Minnesota have developed and refined a theory that makes it feasible to study larger quantum systems. Now, they have advanced that theory with a new method that achieves high accuracy without the steep computational cost of other advanced methods.


New cosmic microwave background measurements sharpen puzzling “Hubble tension”

January 15, 2025

Icon of telescope

Observations with the South Pole Telescope have revealed an independent addition to the biggest problem in cosmology. Tom Crawford, a UChicago astronomy Research Professor, is co-author of the study.


Stuart A. Rice, UChicago professor who shaped the field of physical chemistry, 1932-2024

January 13, 2025

Stuart Rice

Distinguished scientist remembered for groundbreaking research, tireless teaching and mentorship.


24 people dead from California wildfires, evacuations still underway

January 13, 2025

California wildfires

Fox Local news story about the California wildfires features atmospheric scientist Elisabeth Moyer.


Fermilab Leadership Transition

January 13, 2025

Young-Kee Kim

University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos announced today that Lia Merminga has decided to step down from her role as director of Fermilab. Albert A. Michelson Distinguished Service Professor of Physics Young-Kee Kim will act as the interim director of Fermilab until a permanent replacement is found. Professor Kim’s tenure at the University of Chicago has spanned more than 20 years, and she served as deputy director of Fermilab from 2006 to 2013. 


Stuart A. Rice, groundbreaking physical chemist, 1957-2024

January 7, 2025

Stuart A Rice

Stuart Alan Rice, Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and the James Franck Institute, and former dean of the Physical Sciences Division, died on December 22, 2024.


Prof. Wendy Freedman awarded National Medal of Science

January 7, 2025

Prof. Wendy Freedman holds medal with Arati Prabhakar in front of American flag

Prof. Wendy Freedman, one of world’s leading cosmologists, has been awarded the National Medal of Science, the country’s highest scientific honor. She was recognized for her pioneering contributions to cosmology, including the measurement of the expansion and evolution of the universe.

Photo by Ryan K. Morris, courtesy of the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation