News: 2025

August

Levitating disks could open a new window into the Earth’s upper atmosphere

August 25, 2025

An illustration of how the devices could levitate high in the atmosphere powered only by sunlight.

Devices can levitate powered only by sunlight, could explore little-known areas.


Scientists rule out an Earth-like atmosphere for nearby exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 D

August 25, 2025

This artist’s concept depicts what planet TRAPPIST-1 d might look like as it passes in front of its turbulent star, with other members of the closely packed system shown in the background.

Webb telescope helps scientists narrow down the search for “Earth twin” planets.


MS in Applied Data Science students put data science skills to work over the summer

August 25, 2025

Combined photo of Sakshi Bokil, Vincent Chirio, Zeel Patel, and Joshua Wang.

Fortune 500 companies and federal space agencies allow students in the Master's in Applied Data Science to use classroom knowledge to create real-world impact.


Quantum-enabling startup founded at UChicago joins the Chicago Quantum Exchange

August 25, 2025

The K1 Semiconductor research and engineering team advancing semiconductor wafer reuse platform technology to unlock innovation across industries.

K1 Semiconductor, which recently took second place in the Polsky New Venture Challenge and Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge, is developing a technique that could drastically improve chip manufacturing.


Institute for Climate and sustainable growth announces 2025 venture and seed fund awardees

August 25, 2025

Plastic bottles and materials wrapped in plastic wrap.

Ten of the 18 projects awarded grants involve faculty from the Physical Sciences Division. These projects are crucial in tackling climate change.


PhD alumni Ahmed Bou-Rabee featured in Quanta Magazine

August 25, 2025

Picture of Ahmed Bou-Rabee.

Ahmed Bou-Rabee's superdiffusion research, featured in Quanta Magazine, proves a 1980s prediction using new methods in stochastic homogenization, with co-authors Scott Armstrong and Tuomo Kuusi.


Robert Wald receives 2025 ICTP Dirac Medal

August 25, 2025

Robert Wald

Congratulations to Robert Wald, Charles H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College, who has received a 2025 Dirac Medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).


Could plants unlock quantum medicine’s potential? with Greg Engel

August 22, 2025

Greg Engel

This episode of the Big Brains podcast features Chemistry Professor Greg Engel, who helped launch the field of quantum biology. Engel explains how plants and bacteria evolved to exploit quantum effects for photosynthesis—and how understanding these systems could spark a revolution in quantum sensing, medicine, and neuroscience.


Abigail Vieregg receives 2025 Cottrell SEED Award

August 22, 2025

Photo of Abigail Vieregg outdoors

Congratulations to Abigail Vieregg, Professor of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, and the College, who has received a 2025 Cottrell SEED Award!


Dmitri Talapin and John Anderson receive ACS national awards

August 20, 2025

Dmitri Talapin (left) and John Anderson

Congratulations to Prof. Talapin and Prof. Anderson, who have received prestigious ACS awards! The American Chemical Society has announced its 2026 national award winners, acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields in the discipline.


Under a mountain in Savoie, the hunt for “dark matter” particles

August 14, 2025

Installation of the prototype of the Damic-M experiment for tracking dark matter, at the underground laboratory in Modane (Savoie), in March 2025 DAMIC-M.

Near Modane, a laboratory buried beneath the Alps is attempting to capture elements of a world parallel to our own. Paolo Privitera uses this laboratory to study dark matter. 

[Article published in French. View in Chrome browser for translation option.]


The origin of the oldest solid objects in the solar system

August 14, 2025

 Structure and composition of a very young protoplanetary disk.

Fred Ciesla reveals how observations of a young star offer a glimpse of the high-temperature conditions that shaped rock formation in the early Solar System.


Unlocking the secrets of our Galaxy’s heart using magnetic fields

August 14, 2025

The dust in the Milky Way, shown in darker and redder colours, are regions where new star formation is taking place. These dusty regions are correlated with the magnetic fields present in our galaxy, and the background light gets polarised in a measurable

PhD student Roy Zhao's research on a region called Sagittarius C discovers that magnetic field in the area wraps around an expanding bubble of hot, electrified gas blown outward by the winds from a cluster of massive young stars.


My little slime

August 14, 2025

A Petri dish with Physarum polycephalum, or slime mold. Computer science researcher Jasmine Lu used the slime mold as a “living wire” in a smartwatch at the University of Chicago.

PhD student Jasmine Lu incorporates slime mold into her devices due to its unique ability to conduct electricity. 


UChicago briefing highlights quantum Tech’s transformative potential

August 14, 2025

A photo of a man speaking in front of a crowd of people dressed in suits.

UChicago hosts a briefing for congressional staff and federal agencies to discuss the potential of quantum technology.