Dear Alumni & Friends,

We invite you to help move UChicago forward on Giving Day, April 9-10. Giving Day is a 24-hour opportunity to show support for UChicago's students, faculty, and world-changing research. As part of Giving Day, C. Bryan Daniels, MBA '85, SM '04, has generously provided a match. The first 50 gifts of any amount to PSD will bring an additional $10,000, and the next 50 gifts will bring $15,000. Please give now and share the opportunity on your networks.

As always, we'd love to hear from you.

Thank you for being supporters and advocates of the PSD,

Angela V. Olinto

Dean of the Physical Sciences Division, UChicago

MADD Center Invites Collaboration

The Media Arts, Data, and Design Center (MADD) opened its doors to people who want to create, study, and learn about critical technologies driving both culture and science. The new collaborative space inside the John Crear Library hosts five resource labs and brings together the PSD, College, Division of Humanities, UChicago Arts, and the UChicago Library. Watch a video about the Weston Game Lab and learn about the workshop on designing soft, stretchable electronics.

2019 Brinson Lecture: The Hunt for Other Worlds

On April 9, MIT astrophysicist Sara Seager will discuss the latest advances in the field of exoplanetary research during the 11th annual University of Chicago Brinson Lecture, which aims to engage the public in field-defining research by leading astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists. Learn more and join us.

Big Brains Podcast: The Hidden Dangers of AI

The development of artificial intelligence has begun to feel inevitable and promising. But University of Chicago computer scientist, Ben Zhao, has spent much of his career testing how the security of these systems can break down. Listen to the UChicago Big Brains podcast featuring Zhao and subscribe to hear future episodes.

Meet a UChicagoan: Justin Kasper, AB '99

Justin Kasper, University of Michigan professor and a research associate with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, used his Scav Hunt skills to design an instrument for the Parker Solar Probe. In this video, Kasper discusses his experiences at UChicago and work on the probe. Nominate someone for the 'Meet a UChicagoan' series, which focuses on people who make UChicago a distinct intellectual community.

• The New York Times discusses the Hubble constant with Profs. Turner and Freedman.
• Quanta: math duo maps the infinite terrain of minimal surfaces.
• Prof. Pedro Lopes blends science with art to invent future technology.
• Rivers raged on Mars late into its history.
  • See also National Geographic.
• Fermilab breaks ground on major new particle accelerator project, PIP-II.
  • See also Chicago Tribune
• Argonne supercomputer, built for AI, will be most powerful in U.S.
  • See also New York Times
• Scientists record thousands of tiny ice quakes that may help track melting glaciers.
  • See also Forbes.
• PSD announces new research center focusing on theoretical chemistry.
• Student group compileHer sparks CS interest in middle school girls.
• Physicists levitate particles with sound to find out how they cluster together.
• New breakthrough in manufacturing infrared cameras could make technology cheaper and more widely available.
• National Defense Magazine highlights UChicago's quantum research.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison joins Chicago Quantum Exchange.
• Inside Higher Ed editorial argues that more schools should develop “public interest technology” programs, and declares UChicago CAPP as a pioneer.
• Graduate Recruitment Initiative Team (GRIT) expands its activity to include PSD.
• C2ST awards Prof. Wendy Freedman a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the measurement of the Hubble constant.
• Peter Freund, theoretical physicist and storyteller, 1936-2018.