News

2026

Todd Frank Dupont, inventive computational and applied mathematician, 1942–2026

October 13, 2026

Todd Dupont

Remembered for innovative curiosity, leadership, and contagious enthusiasm.


At EPIC, MSCAPP students used data to surface overlooked policy questions

October 12, 2026

Photo of a computer screen with data on it.

MSCAPP students Sinan Grehan and Wendy Wang spent the summer at the Energy Policy Institute at UChicago using data, econometrics, and environmental research to investigate policy questions that range from wetlands regulation to the hidden costs of climate change.


New simulation projects what the Milky Way looked like at ‘cosmic dawn’

October 12, 2026

Using powerful supercomputers, scientists created an extensive simulation of what the Milky Way could have looked like long ago—a chaotic progression of hot gas cooling, condensing into stars, and exploding, over and over again. Purple indicates hot gas

Most complex rendering of its kind provides insight into early days of our home galaxy.


UChicago space program takes stratospheric science to new heights

October 12, 2026

A view of the mid-stratosphere from NASA's High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) balloon. A project designed and built by University of Chicago undergraduates (right, with UChicago Space Progam logo) was one of 17 university student projects selected for

Undergraduate-built experiment collects particles 23 miles above Earth aboard a NASA high-altitude balloon.


Mathematicians harness randomness to crack a 55-year-old conjecture

October 12, 2026

Photo of Huy Tuan Pham.

After a long hiatus, a problem that was likely inspired by juggling has finally been resolved by a group of young mathematicians.


The value of basic science celebrated with the 2026 “Golden Goose” awards

October 12, 2026

The Golden Goose Awards honor scientists whose research projects may appear obscure at first before ultimately leading to major scientific breakthroughs.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced the 2026 Golden Goose Awards, celebrating federally funded basic research that initially seemed trivial but yielded major societal benefits. This year's honorees include discoveries leading to histotripsy, a non-invasive cancer treatment using ultrasound, and the "Black Marble" satellite data, which maps power outages and aids disaster recovery by observing holiday lighting from space. Another award recognizes work on the physics of everyday phenomena like coffee spills, impacting inkjet printing and manufacturing. The awards originated to counter past ridicule of basic science, highlighting how unexpected discoveries, often from obscure beginnings, are crucial for health, safety, and technological advancement, underscoring the importance of sustained federal investment in scientific research.


Astronomers discover a cold lava planet that may resemble early Earth

October 12, 2026

An illustration of the newly-discovered lava world HD 3167 b.

"We think early Earth might have looked a lot like a lava world."


University of Chicago theoretical physicist honored as MacArthur Fellow

October 12, 2026

Vincenzo Vitelli.

Vincenzo Vitelli’s work focuses on a new way of thinking of collections of “agents” — such as robots — as a form of material.


Rogue OpenAI agent probed online Chicago City Database | chicagolive

October 12, 2026

Photo of Hank Hoffman.

OpenAI recently alerted the city of Chicago that it's technology probed an online city database. University of Chicago Professor Hank Hoffman joins ChicagoLIVE to breakdown what this means and how concerned Chicagoans should be.


Learning is a blast – and a bang – at the South Side Science Festival

October 6, 2026

John Anderson demonstrating liquid nitrogen experiments

Dancing robots, mutant Legos and rocks that rock mark the fifth annual UChicago STEM community outreach event.


Mateo Díaz named Faraco Family Assistant Professor

October 6, 2026

Mateo Díaz

An assistant professor in the Department of Statistics and the Data Science Institute, Mateo Díaz has been named the inaugural Faraco Family Assistant Professor.


A place for ideas: Faraco Family Commons opens at UChicago Data Science Institute

October 6, 2026

For Francisco Faraco (MS ’04), CEO and Founder of Faraco Partners, nothing is more important than family.

As a 2004 graduate of the University of Chicago’s Master of Science in Financial Mathematics program, Faraco recalls how his small FinMath cohort became its own sort of family, spending the majority of their days together in Eckhart Hall.


From inspiration to reality: building an AI home design system

October 6, 2026

Website showing the interface of this AI home design software.

For people looking to refresh their homes, generative AI offers an enticing possibility: Upload a photograph of a room and, within seconds, see what it might look like with a different color palette, new furniture or an entirely new style.


XENON experiment finds quietest neutrinos ever detected

October 6, 2026

XENON Collaboration members install the bottom of the experiment’s extremely sensitive detector array. The experiment has been able to capture extremely faint neutrinos coming from the surface of the sun.

Ultra-sensitive detector designed by UChicago team to search for dark matter captures elusive low-energy neutrino particles from the sun.


The evolving quest to build life in a lab

October 6, 2026

Gloved hand pipetting.

Scientists want to create cells from scratch, to unveil life’s origins or provide specialized functions. Are they close?