News: 2025

September

Reconsidering the cosmological constant

September 8, 2025

UChicago astrophysicists’ physics-based models suggest dark energy may be evolving


August

Prof. Abigail Vieregg receives 2025 Cottrell SEED Award

August 26, 2025

Since 1994, the Cottrell Scholar program has honored and helped to develop outstanding teacher-scholars who are recognized by their scientific communities for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership.


Listening for Neutrinos with Quantum Acoustics

August 26, 2025

Professors Paolo Privitera (Astronomy & Astrophysics and KICP) and Andrew Cleland (PME) have received a 2025-2027 DARPA award to develop novel qubit-based detectors of low-energy neutrinos.  The UChicago-led consortium supported by the QuSeN (Quantum Sensing of Neutrinos) program includes Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of California San Diego and Fermilab.


Deep beneath the French Alps, scientists hunt for dark matter

August 21, 2025

UChicago scientists probe the nature of mysterious ‘hidden-sector’ dark matter in DAMIC-M experiment


Grad student Hillary Andales awarded 2025 QUAD Fellowship

August 13, 2025

The Institute of International Education (IIE) announced today the selection of 37 exceptional students as recipients of the prestigious 2025 Quad Fellowship. These Fellows will pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at leading institutions around the world.


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

August 13, 2025

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


July

Galactic Rosetta Stone

July 30, 2025

Study measuring magnetic field near the center of the Milky Way helps to decode the precise astrophysical dynamics at the heart of our galaxy


Priscilla Frisch, 1943 - 2025

July 16, 2025

Priscilla Diane Chapman Frisch, a University of Chicago Research Professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics and a world-leading scientist on the heliosphere and the local interstellar medium, died on April 2 at her home in Hyde Park. She was 81.


June

Latest data from South Pole Telescope signals ‘new era’ for measuring the first light in the universe

June 26, 2025

Study of the cosmic microwave background adds new depth to our understanding of universe


Michael Radica awarded IAU Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology Thesis prize

June 20, 2025

The IAU received 118 applications for a PhD prize for thesis defended between, defended between 16 December 2023 and 15 December 2024. The Divisions have awarded nine PhD Prizes, and each awardee will be invited to present their work during the Division Days at the IAU XXXIII General Assembly, which will be held in August 2027 in Rome, Italy. The Divisions have also awarded eight honourable mentions.


Grad student Autumn Pearce awarded Physical Sciences Division Graduate Teaching Prize

June 3, 2025

The Teaching Prize is based on nominations from students who shared compelling evidence of honorees’ outstanding contributions to their education. 


May

Third-year student Logan Hanssler selected as a 2025 Astronaut Scholar

May 30, 2025

Logan Hanssler, a third-year student majoring in Molecular Engineering and Astrophysics, has been selected as a 2025 Astronaut Scholar

Project director for the Polarization Modulated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A), Hanssler hopes to pursue a PhD in Aerospace Engineering or Astrophysics. To hear him talk about forming a CubeSat laboratory on campus, the UChicago Space Program RSO, and how their team proposal was selected by NASA, click here.


Prof. Don York to receive 2025 Norman Maclean Faculty Award

May 29, 2025

Named for a renowned University of Chicago professor who shaped minds with his sense of duty and dedication to students, the Norman Maclean Faculty Award recognizes those who do the same.

As part of the 2025 Alumni Awards program, Prof. Emeritus Donald G. York, PhD’71, will receive the Norman Maclean Faculty Award honoring his extraordinary contributions to teaching and student life at the University of Chicago.


At UChicago, mentorship drives the ‘front line of discovery’

May 27, 2025

For a keen mind, the right mentor can make a world of difference. This may be especially true for students at the University of Chicago as they immerse in discovery. The relationships students build with their mentors support them as they connect with research opportunities, explore their passions and test their mettle against tough problems and enduring questions.


New measure of the universe’s expansion suggests resolution of a conflict

May 27, 2025

Team led by UChicago scientist Wendy Freedman using James Webb Space Telescope finds no evidence of tension in Hubble Constant