News

2026

International Congress of Mathematicians: Opening Ceremony

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng as a child playing Go

Watch Yu Deng accept the Fields Medal and a video featuring his life and work.


Amid life’s chaos, a meticulous mathematician finds stability

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

Before he won a Fields Medal for his pioneering work balancing randomness and order, Yu Deng had to achieve equilibrium in his own life.


Yu Deng predicts the actions of the whole from its tiniest parts

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

Dr. Deng, a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago, received a Fields Medal for his work on an equation describing fluid mechanics.


UChicago Prof. Yu Deng receives Fields Medal, highest honor in mathematics

July 23, 2026

Yu Deng

University mathematician recognized for cracking 125-year-old challenge to ground physics in mathematics.
 


From Academic to Economist: Finding an Applied Quant Finance Career at UChicago

July 21, 2026

Arturo

In 2024, Arturo Charleston ʼ25 was at a turning point. Living in Evanston and working as a research assistant at Northwestern University, he had originally planned to pursue a PhD. The academic path appealed to his curiosity, but he longed for a way to apply his economic and technical skills more directly in the finance industry.

That search led him to the University of Chicago’s Master of Science in Financial Mathematics (MSFM) program. “I wanted to do something in which I can apply all the technical skills, working in economic finance in a more applied way in the industry,” says Arturo. “And well, UChicago is a great school for that.”


“You Can Do It”: One Alum’s Take on a Graduate Program That Builds More Than Quant Skills

July 21, 2026

Kunj

When he decided to apply to the Financial Mathematics (FinMath) program, Chicago native, Kunj Shah, was working as a financial analyst at quant trading firm DRW after graduating from college with a Finance and Psychology degree from the University of Illinois. 
He enjoyed the work he was doing, but he wanted more exposure to quantitative finance. 
For Kunj, there was no other place to learn than the University of Chicago. 


Fermilab marks 70 years of neutrino science and leads next-generation experiment

July 20, 2026

Picture of a neutrino interaction in the Fermilab 15-foot Bubble Chamber with heavy neonhydrogen liquid mixture taken in April, 1976.

As Fermilab commemorates 70 years since the discovery of the neutrino at the Savannah River Site in the United States, the lab also celebrates its multiple generations of pioneering neutrino research. Today, Fermilab is building the next era of neutrino discovery through the development of the world-leading Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.


Could we mitigate super El Niños by artificially changing the climate? A new study indicates yes.

July 20, 2026

Earth is currently experiencing an occurrence of the El Niño climate pattern.

Researchers used computer models to see what would have happened had scientists caused marine cloud brightening in the face of strong past El Niños.


Why analytic superiority matters most in the AI race

July 20, 2026

Integrating artificial intelligence into military operations to maintain analytic superiority is a crucial step toward meeting defense goals. Many foreign countries, including China, are experimenting with more flexible models that may take less time and

Integrating artificial intelligence of varying capacities may outshine investing in the most powerful models. Op-ed co-authored by Robert Grossman, the Frederick H. Rawson Distinguished Service Professor in Medicine and Computer Science and the Jim and Karen Frank Director of the Center for Translational Data Science at the University of Chicago.


AI-enhanced rare-event sampling helps predict extreme weather

July 20, 2026

Characterizing rare weather events Researchers have developed an AI-boosted rare-event sampling framework to predict the frequency of heatwaves.

The frequency of extreme weather events can be predicted more accurately than presently possible by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with physical climate modelling, using a protocol called rare-event sampling. Researchers used the approach to model extreme heat events such as the one currently roasting Europe, but they believe it could also be applicable to many other extreme events in climate science.


Milky Way’s galactic immigrant: How ten students found a nearly pristine extragalactic star

July 20, 2026

Students found a star in our galaxy so pure that  scientists say it should not exist here.

A few million years after the Big Bang, a nearly pure star formed within the ancient gas clouds of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This satellite galaxy currently orbits the Milky Way. The star formed primarily from primordial hydrogen and helium gas before early supernova explosions could enrich the local universe with heavier metallic elements. Billions of years later, ten undergraduate students at the University of Chicago identified the rare celestial object within an astronomical data archive.


Stuart Rowan named Interim Dean of the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

July 20, 2026

Photo of Stuart Rowan.

Stuart Rowan, the Director of UChicago PME’s Institute for Materials and Sustainability (IMS), the Barry L. MacLean Professor for Molecular Engineering Innovation and Enterprise, and Professor of Chemistry, has been named Interim Dean of UChicago PME.


South Pole Telescope analysis releases new catalog of more than 7,000 galaxy clusters

July 20, 2026

The South Pole Telescope takes advantage of the incredibly clear skies of Antarctica to map the sky. The collaboration has released a new catalogue of clusters of galaxies in the universe.

New cosmic census, led by Argonne and UChicago, shows how universe grew and changed.


When chatbots come to class: how high school students are navigating the new AI frontier

July 20, 2026

Photo of a policy sheet for use of ChatGPT.

New research reveals how high school students are adapting to the classroom arrival of AI tools like ChatGPT, facing fragmented policies and unclear boundaries.


DSI partners with SkAI and NITMB to host fifth annual AI+Science Summer School

July 20, 2026

Some of the week’s participants pose for a group photo.

Introducing a new generation of interdisciplinary trainees to the expanding field of AI+Science, Schmidt Fellows, organizers, and speakers built a community across disciplines and institutions.