News: Awards

Vincenzo Vitelli has been named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow. Given each year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the prestigious grants recognize individuals across different fields who demonstrate “exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.”

Prof. Sidney Nagel has been named an awardee of the Golden Goose Award. The Golden Goose Award was created by members of the US Congress to "recognize the tremendous human and economic benefits of federally funded research by highlighting examples of seemingly obscure studies that have led to major breakthroughs and resulted in significant societal impact. The Golden Goose Award has strong bipartisan support, and winners are honored every year at an award ceremony in Washington, D.C., where Members of Congress of both parties speak to the importance of the award and of federal funding of scientific research."

Prof. Laura Gagliardi has been awarded the 2027 Henry H. Storch award in Energy Chemistry. 

NSF has renewed the Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (NSF QuBBE), with $37.5 million to advance quantum sensing technologies that can reveal biological processes difficult or impossible to observe with conventional methods.
 

Arvind Murugan promoted to Professor in the Department of Physics.

Laura Gagliardi has just been named for the 2026 Eni Award for Energy Frontiers.  Established in 2008, the Eni Award is one of the most prestigious international prizes in energy and environmental science — often described as the "Nobel Prize of energy research." Past laureates include Omar Yaghi (2018, Energy Transition).

https://www.eni.com/en-IT/strategic-vision/innovation/eni-award.html

Prof. Jiwoong Park is one of thirteen UChicago faculty members to receive named, distinguished service professorships in July 2026. Prof. Park will be the James Franck Professor of Chemistry. 

Dr. Michelle Brann (a former student of Prof. Steven J. Sibener) won the ACS Astrochemistry Division Thesis Prize. She received a plaque commemorating the award at the Spring ACS meeting in Atlanta in March. 
 

Zoe Yan and Jack Covey named 2026 Sloan Fellows

Prof. Thomas Witten has been awarded the 2025 Prize from European Physical Society Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division:   
 
"for his seminal contributions to the statistical physics of aggregation, soft matter, and complex fluids, and for unveiling principles in the dynamics of polymers, interfaces, and disordered materials.”
 

Zoe Yan received a 2025 Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for her exceptional ability and promise in basic research.

Arvind Murugan was named a 2025 Schmidt Polymath to acknowledge and support his novel research.

Dmitri Talapin received the ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field.

Joshua Wagner, a graduate student with the Steve Sibener Group, has been named the recipient of the distinguished Dorothy M. and Earl S. Hoffman Award from the AVS (American Vacuum Society). 

Michelle Brann has received the 2025 ACS Astrochemistry Dissertation Award in recognition for the significant contributions made during her doctoral studies with Prof. Steven J. Sibener.