From a new Dean to new vaccines, from qubits cut from sound to the science of superheroes, it’s been another amazing year at UChicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
As 2023 comes to a close, we invite you to revisit how PME’s unique interdisciplinary focus is tackling some of the world’s biggest problems, together.
1. Physicist Nadya Mason appointed dean of Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
Nadya Mason, whose research focuses on electronic properties of small-scale materials, serves as dean of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.
2. Founding Dean Matthew Tirrell hands off an impressive legacy
Prof. Matthew Tirrell, who led the University of Chicago’s molecular engineering program since its inception in 2011, stepped down from his role as dean on Sept. 30, 2023.
3. Clarivate’s 2023 list of world's most highly cited researchers includes six PME faculty
Clarivate’s 2023 Highly Cited Researchers list, which draws from papers ranked in the top one percent by citations for field and publication year, this year included Hannes Bernien, Po-Chun Hsu, Liang Jiang, Y. Shirley Meng, Jiwoong Park, and Sihong Wang.
1. Researchers “split” phonons – or sound – in step toward new type of quantum computer
In first-of-their-kind experiments, a research team in the lab of Prof. Andrew Cleland took critical steps toward creating a linear mechanical quantum computer.
2. ‘Noise-cancelling’ qubits developed at UChicago to minimize errors in quantum computers
In a paper in Science, researchers in the lab of Asst. Prof. Hannes Bernien describe a method to constantly monitor the noise around a quantum system and adjust the qubits, in real-time, to minimize error.
1. Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy
To address the challenge of saving energy in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events and variable weather, researchers led by Asst. Prof. Po-Chun Hsu designed a building material that can change how much heat it absorbs or emits based on the outside temperature.
2. ‘An entirely new display technology’: Researchers develop stretchable OLED display
A material developed by Asst. Prof. Sihong Wang and Prof. Juan de Pablo can stretch more than twice its original length without disrupting its ability to emit light and display a clear image.
1. “Inverse vaccine” shows potential to treat multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases
Prof. Jeffrey Hubbell and fellow researchers describe a new “inverse vaccine” that in a lab setting can stop autoimmune reactions which attack a person’s healthy tissues, as seen in diseases multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis.
2. How stem cell therapies can provide new ways to stop tumors from spreading or growing back
Asst. Prof. Huanhuan Joyce Chen and postdoctoral scholar Abhimanyu Thakur describe a type of treatment using stem cells called differentiation therapy, which focuses on persuading cancer cells to become normal cells.
STAGE Lab’s Quantum Casino imparts the core principles of quantum mechanics in a way that’s fun and easy to understand.
Guests who arrived early to an advanced screening of Marvel’s film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” were treated to an exclusive hands-on demo of STAGE Lab’s Quantum Casino.