News: 2026

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

A program hosted by UChicago's ISAC Museum explored how a biblical battleground, a doomsday clock and a looping film each translate existential risk into something real.

AI demands are straining energy systems and the environment; scientist proposes a more sustainable solution in this Big Brains episode featuring computer scientist Andrew Chien.

Professors including Wendy Friedman and Fred Ciesla discuss the special advanced screening of the movie "Project Hail Mary," placing science rather than Ryan Gosling as its focus. 

From split‑ring resonators to rare‑isotope beams, ATLAS has been expanding the frontiers of nuclear physics for four decades — and it’s just getting started.

University of Chicago researcher Chuan He has been recognized for the potential real-world impact of his work – including a method to dramatically increase crop yields and an innovative liquid biopsy test that can detect early-stage cancer.

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.
 

UChicago researchers launch civic chatbot to educate and challenge voters.
 

Argonne scientists discover how extreme conditions shape carbon into advanced materials for medicine, energy and defense.

Still in its original galaxy, a rare holdout from the second generation of stars sheds new light on the origins of the elements—and how massive supernovae reshaped the cosmos.

Congratulations to the PSD faculty members who have received NSF CAREER Awards. According to the NSF, the prestigious CAREER award supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
 

Prof. Ka Yee C. Lee has been appointed dean of the Physical Sciences Division, following two years of dedicated service as interim dean. Her term began March 1.

In this spring’s Compton Lectures, Keith McBride, a UChicago postdoctoral researcher, will illuminate how astroparticles can answer questions about the farthest reaches of our universe as well as be harnessed as practical tools to understand our earth. The free public talks run every Saturday from March 28 through May 16 at 11 AM.
 

Bonnie Fleming has joined UChicago as professor of physics, effective March 10. Previously, Fleming served as Fermilab’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology and Chief Research Officer and a part-time University of Chicago faculty member with appointments in the Physics Department and the Enrico Fermi Institute. Read a Q&A with our newest full-time physics professor.

University of Chicago Prof. Emeritus Karl Frederick Freed, whose mathematical rigor provided the scaffolding for modern molecular theory, died Jan. 11. He was 83.