2023
Nagel awarded APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research
January 12, 2023

This year, Sidney Nagel, the Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, is accepting the 2023 American Physical Society Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research. The award, sometimes referred to as the ‘lifetime achievement Oscar of physics,’ recognizes “contributions of the highest level that advance our knowledge and understanding of the physical universe in all its facets.”
2022
New PREM seed with Xavier University of Louisiana
October 19, 2022

Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA), in partnership with the University of Chicago MRSEC, was recently awarded a PREM seed by the National Science Foundation. This award will enable XULA to increase recruitment, retention, and degree attainment and at the same time support excellent research and education at both instituions.
Savannah Gowen wins Science Slam Competition involving all 19 MRSEC Centers
April 14, 2022

Emergent locomotion
April 13, 2022

Continuum mechanics reveal collective robotic mechanisms including emergent locomotion. The interplay between inertial rolling and internal shape chang allows a hexagon to roll autonomously uphill by virtue of its own deformation.
Host matrix engineering for enhanced molecular qubit coherence
April 12, 2022

Machine learning active nematic hydrodynamics​
April 12, 2022

Extremely anisotropic van der Waals thermal conductors
April 11, 2022

Random twists between layers of crystalline sheets block heat going through the layers, but still maintain good heat flow along the sheets. Researchers measure an astonishing factor of 900 in the difference in heat flow.
Sculpting and Predicting Flows in Active Nematics
April 11, 2022

Multi qubit entaglement in a Quantum Network
April 11, 2022

Strong electronic coupling of nanocrystal arrays
April 11, 2022

Physics and Contemporary Architecture
April 11, 2022

Trainable Shear Memory in dense suspensions of microparticles activated by e-field or UV light
April 11, 2022

Five second coherence of a single spin
April 10, 2022

Rising Stars in Soft and Biological Matter Symposium, Oct. 6-7
April 10, 2022

Trained interactions can discriminate concentration patterns across nearly 1,000 molecules
April 9, 2022

Trained binding interactions can assemble multiple distinct structures from a soup of molecules through distinct nucleation pathways.