UChicago News

Third-year Niklas Thompson earns Goldwater Scholarship

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:23 -0500

Niklas Thompson, a third-year chemistry and mathematics major, has been selected as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. In addition, Samuel Greene, a second-year chemistry major, received an honorable mention.

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New technique reveals unseen information in DNA code

Steve Koppes — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00 -0500

Imagine reading an entire book, but then realizing that your glasses did not allow you to distinguish “g” from “q.” What details did you miss?

Geneticists faced a similar problem with the recent discovery of a “sixth nucleotide” in the DNA alphabet. Two modifications of cytosine, one of the four bases that make up DNA, look almost the same but mean different things. But scientists lacked a way of reading DNA, letter by letter, and detecting...

Scholars, scientists explore cosmos and culture at Adler Planetarium event

Greg Borzo — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:50 -0500

Anthropologist George Murdock once conducted a cross-cultural survey of more than a thousand societies, which revealed a list of “cultural universals”—things that are found in every society. In addition to brewing alcoholic beverages, body adornment and sexual taboos, the list included a creation story, or an explanation of where we came from.

In other words, a cosmology.

Those are the same universals addressed by cultural activities, such as art, music,...

Bertram Cohler, psychologist and esteemed teacher, 1938-2012

William Harms — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:54 -0500

Update: A memorial service for Bert Cohler will be held at 6 p.m. June 4 in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

Bertram Cohler, a UChicago psychologist and celebrated teacher who was an expert on family life and transitions, died May 9. Cohler, 73, was the William Rainey Harper Professor in the College.

Cohler’s primary appointment was in Comparative Human Development, with joint appointments held in Psychology, Psychiatry and...

University to bestow honorary degrees on three distinguished scholars

William Harms — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:21 -0500

The University of Chicago will present honorary degrees to an astronomer, a historian, and a biologist during the 511th Convocation Ceremony on Saturday, June 9 on the Main Quadrangle.

The honorary degree recipients are Geoffrey W. Marcy, an astronomer and exoplanet expert and professor of astronomy and director of the Center for Integrative Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley; Jean Meyer Barth, a scholar of Mexican history and professor of history at Centro...

UChicago scientists collect plethora of awards

Steve Koppes — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:23 -0500

Faculty members in the Physical Sciences Division have accumulated numerous honors and awards in recent months, including two National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards and four 2012 Sloan Research Fellowships.

Also receiving NSF CAREER Awards...

South Pole Telescope exhibit headed for Washington, New York

Steve Koppes — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:54 -0500

Visitors to the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. will get a taste of the South Pole Telescope when a traveling exhibit comes their way on April 28-29. The University of Chicago’s Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics will present the exhibit, “100 Years of Exploration @ South Pole: From Survival to Science,” which was produced by a...

Guidelines for prostate screening widely ignored, study finds

John Easton — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:32 -0500

New research confirms that the controversial decision by Warren Buffett – the 81-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway – to undergo a blood test screening for prostate cancer despite his age is hardly unusual. Despite recommendations in 2008 from the United States Preventive Services Task Force against testing for prostate cancer in men aged 75 years or older,...

Three graduate students earn Physical Sciences Teaching Prizes

Steve Koppes — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:44 -0500

The winners of 2012 Physical Sciences Teaching Prizes are Mijo Simunovic, chemistry; Markus Kliegl, math; and Judith Kamm, chemistry.

The prizes are offered annually and jointly by the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division and the graduate Division of Physical Sciences, to graduate students in recognition of exceptional teaching in undergraduate physical sciences classes. The award includes $750 and a certificate.

“This year the Physical Sciences Collegiate...

University of Waterloo programmers win UChicago Invitational

Steve Koppes — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:43 -0500

The University of Waterloo from Ontario, Canada, took the first-place gold medal and a $4,500 cash prize in the University of Chicago Invitational Programming Contest last weekend. Waterloo solved nine of 10 possible problems in 1,528 minutes.

In a programming contest, the total time is derived from the time used to solve each individual problem, rewarding teams that solve...