astrophysics

From UChicago News, Oct. 18, 2019: The Department of Energy has honored University of Chicago scientists Josh Frieman, also of Fermilab, and Ian Foster, also of Argonne National Laboratory, for their transformative research and scientific leadership, selecting them as part of its inaugural Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellowship program. Frieman was listed for “pioneering advances in the science of dark energy and cosmic acceleration, including leading the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey, co-founding the Dark Energy Survey and service as its director.”

A strong regional tradition of high-energy physics and astrophysics—plus the aspirations of one young researcher—brought the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-ray Observatory to Mexico.

From UChicago News, Oct. 15, 2019: Astronomers at the University of Chicago, MIT and elsewhere have used a massive cluster of galaxies as an X-ray magnifying glass to peer back in time, to nearly 9.4 billion years ago. In the process, they spotted a tiny dwarf galaxy in its very first, high-energy stages of star formation. Fermilab and University of Chicago scientist Brad Benson is a co-author of the study.

The inaugural Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellowship program aims to promote collaboration between national laboratories and academic institutions. One of only five scientists awarded the fellowship, Frieman will use the funds to stimulate synergies between Fermilab and the University of Chicago in cosmic frontier research.

In the last few decades, Argentina and Chile have proven themselves prime spots for astronomical observation — a status that has been a boon in many ways for both countries.

Early Tuesday morning, three physicists—James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz—were rewarded for decades seminal contributions to advancing science with a phone call from Stockholm. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded “for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos.”

From APS’s Physics, Oct. 3, 2019: Fermilab scientist Brian Nord imagines a future where machines test hypotheses on their own — and considers the challenges ahead as scientists embrace artificial intelligence techniques. Nord has begun applying AI to problems in astronomy, such as identifying unusual astronomical objects known as gravitational lenses. He spoke to Physics about his recent projects and how he thinks AI will change the way researchers do science.

From UChicago News, Oct. 1, 2019: AI technology is increasingly used to open up new horizons for scientists and researchers. At the University of Chicago, researchers are using it look for supernovae, find new drugs and develop a deeper understanding of Earth’s climate. University of Chicago and Fermilab scientist Brian Nord is partnering exploring a “self-driving telescope:” a framework that could optimize when and where to point telescopes to gather the most interesting data.

When LIGO and Virgo detected the echoes that likely came from a collision between a black hole and a neutron star, dozens of physicists began a hunt for the signal’s electromagnetic counterpart.

When he was growing up, Jonathan LeyVa thought he’d follow his passion for race cars and pick a profession in automotive engineering. Instead he’s working on what will become one of the world’s most sensitive searches for dark matter, the invisible substance that accounts for more than 85% of the mass of the universe.