News

2024

Murugan group finds DNA capable of pattern recognition

January 30, 2024

The Murugan group found that a DNA system was capable of pattern recognition through the process of self-assembly. Their paper in Nature suggests this may be a pathway for decision-making in biological systems.


Tian group invents granular hydrogel for cell-scale treatment

January 30, 2024

The Tian group invented granular hydrogels, a potent new medical technology. Their Nature Chemical Engineering publication describes how they modified hydrogel patch materials to release cell-sized granules that can deliver treatment directly to the cells.


David DeMille receives Norman F. Ramsey Prize

January 30, 2024

University of Chicago Phoenix shield

Jiwoong Park is a Clarivate 2023 Highly Cited Researcher

January 30, 2024

University of Chicago Phoenix shield

Voth group describes how the HIV-1 virus enters the nucleus

January 30, 2024

The Voth group discovered how the HIV-1 virus enters the nucleus: its cone-shaped capsid shell allows it to pass through nuclear pores. Their work in PNAS details how a cone-shaped capsid not only requires less energy to enter the nucleus but also lends entropic elasticity.


The Jaeger group creates an aggregate robot with liquid and solid behavior

January 30, 2024

The Jaeger group created an aggregate robot which can alternate between liquid and solid behaviors. Their Science Robotics article on the Granulobot explains how the units use magnets and gear-like wheels to recreate the shifting, interlocking behaviors of sand and other granular solids.


Gagliardi group finds new mechanism of copper catalysis

January 30, 2024

The Gagliardi group identified a new mechanism for copper catalysis. Their article in JACS discusses how the copper(II) atom suspended between two organics makes it favorable for nearby nitrogen or oxygen to form radicals, resulting in radical-radical reactions.


2023

MRSEC teams discover method for direct measurement of non-Newtonian fluids

December 20, 2023


Non-Fermi Liquid Workshop organized by Son and Delacrétaz

November 30, 2023

Dam Thanh Son and Luca Delacrétaz helped organize a 3-day workshop from Oct. 27-29 on Non-Fermi Liquids: Recent Developments and Future Prospects. The lectures are available on Panopto.


Over 180 researchers attend the Midwest Cold Atom Workshop

November 14, 2023


Gardel group discovers limit of cell division lies in the volume of the genome

October 30, 2023

The Gardel group discovered the limit of cell division is the volume of the genome, rather than the cell cycle. Their paper in Cell found epithelial division stopped at this size, as shown in the picture, to protect genes from damage.


Voth group reveals microtubule lattice compression is part of controlling length shrinkage

October 30, 2023

The Voth group revealed that compression of the microtubule lattice is essential to controlling shrinkage of its length. Their publication in PNAS models the reaction—see the image for an example—to show how compression lowers the energy barrier of hydrolysis.


Chin group observe superchemistry in supercold Cesium atoms

October 30, 2023

The Chin group observed superchemistry in action by capturing Cesium atoms in a tuned magnetic field. Their paper in Nature showed that the dynamics of these reactions followed a three body model, as seen in this figure.


Guyot-Sionnest group creates quantum dots with efficiency close to commercial LEDs

October 30, 2023

The Guyot-Sionnest group created quantum dots that emit infrared with quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.5%—close to commercial LEDs. Their work, published in Nature, proposes a cascading mechanism, shown in the figure to the left.


Park group designs 2D wafers able to guide light on millimeter scale

October 30, 2023

The Park group designed 2D wafers with the ability to guide visible light on a millimeter scale. Their publication in Science shows how they use different surface features, as shown in this image, to enable the wafers to refract, focus, or modulate the intensity of light.