UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

09/03/2026

The 2026 UChicago Taiwan Student Exchange (UCTS) Fellowship wrapped up with a day of final presentations and a joint poster session, highlighting the impactful research conducted this summer.

Students spent the summer working across the UChicago PME, PSD, BSD, and Booth. Their projects spanned diverse areas of discovery, under the guidance of faculty across UChicago.

Congratulations to the 2026 summer cohort for their contributions to science and engineering!

08/31/2026

UChicago PME at in Chicago 🧪

From undergraduate researchers to faculty, the UChicago PME community shared talks and poster presentations across the American Chemical Society Fall Meeting.

Faculty presented research spanning clean water, energy storage, computational design and quantum technologies, while students exchanged ideas, built new collaborations and showcased their latest research.

🔗 Read more: https://pme.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/undergrad-faculty-uchicago-pritzker-molecular-engineering-represented-acs

Yearly American Chemical Society gathering brought the scientific world to Chicago for 2026.

08/31/2026

Congratulations to Professor Laura Gagliardi on being selected to receive the 2027 Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.

The award recognizes Gagliardi's exceptional contributions to theoretical and computational chemistry and their application to some of the most pressing problems in energy science. Her work has advanced our understanding and computational design of catalysts and energy-relevant materials, including systems for carbon capture and separations, renewable energy, and decarbonization

🔗 Read more: https://pme.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/laura-gagliardi-awarded-2027-henry-h-storch-award-energy-chemistry

08/31/2026

📢 Applications are now open for at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.

At UChicago PME, students work across disciplines and alongside leading researchers to develop solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges.

The PhD in Molecular Engineering emphasizes solution-focused collaboration and allows students to focus on Bioengineering and Immunoengineering, Materials and Sustainability, and Quantum Science and Technology.

The PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering is the first degree of its kind in the nation, focused on topics that will shape the quantum future, including quantum computing, quantum communications, quantum materials, and quantum sensing.

🔗 Explore the programs and apply now: https://pme.uchicago.edu/apply

08/26/2026

"I had a good background in bioengineering, which is why I felt like this program would help me take the next step in my career."

After four years in pharmaceutical quality control, Master of Engineering student Akasha Ashraf came to UChicago PME to better understand how therapies are built from the ground up.

Through the Bio- and Immunoengineering Track, she discovered a passion for engineering the immune system and is now gaining hands-on experience helping develop next-generation immunotherapies.

🔗 Learn more about the Master of Engineering experience. Applications are now open!
http://ms.spr.ly/6182aPIcw

08/25/2026

Applications are now open for the Master of Engineering program at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. Take the next step in advancing your career at the intersection of science and engineering.

At UChicago PME, we bring together leading scientists and engineers to solve some of humanity’s biggest problems through interdisciplinary research – including water scarcity, quantum information, healthcare, sustainable materials, and energy storage.

🔗 Explore the program and apply now: https://pme.uchicago.edu/apply

08/25/2026

There are eight National Science Foundation (NSF) Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes across the nation, and The Grainger College of Engineering is proud to be home to one of them.

NSF Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks has been renewed for another five years with $37.5M in funding. With 45 senior researchers from six institutions, NSF HQAN will continue its mission in studying modular approaches to quantum computing, as well as serve as a nexus between scientists, federal science agencies, quantum technology companies and educational organizations.

"The first phase of HQAN has made substantial progress in terms of both research advances and building the quantum workforce of the future. We have set the stage for modular quantum computing, which was largely unexplored when we started but now appears on the quantum roadmaps of major companies. I am also proud that we are a regional center anchored in the Midwest, where we have been a key partner of the Chicago Quantum Exchange and driven new initiates such as the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park,” said Brian DeMarco, NSF HQAN Director and Illinois Grainger Engineering Professor.

As it enters this second phase, NSF HQAN is working toward a comprehensive, industry-ready pathway to modular quantum computing, one that brings hardware and software together to realize real quantum advantage.

Read the full announcement: grainger.illinois.edu/news/stories/HQAN-renewed-five-years

08/25/2026

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed the Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (NSF QuBBE) with a $37.5 million, five-year investment.

Led by The University of Chicago in partnership with Chicago State University, the University of Illinois Chicago, and Harvard University, NSF QuBBE brings together quantum scientists, engineers, chemists, biologists, and physicians around the mission of advancing quantum sensing technologies that can reveal biological processes that are difficult or impossible to observe with conventional tools.

This next phase will advance quantum sensing from proof-of-principle experiments toward robust tools for studying living systems—while building Chicago's quantum workforce through expanded education and training programs across all partner universities.

At the University of Chicago, the effort spans UChicago PME, UChicago Division of the Physical Sciences, University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences, and UChicago Medicine.

University of Chicago-led institute will advance quantum sensors toward robust tools for revealing biological processes beyond the reach of conventional measurement

08/24/2026

More than 65 researchers gathered for the 6th Annual MRSEC Symposium, celebrating materials research and the next generation of scientists.

UChicago PME Interim Dean Stuart Rowan kicked off the event, which featured research talks from graduate students and postdocs, a keynote from Northwestern’s Julia Kalow and a poster session showcasing REU students and MRSEC-affiliated researchers.

The symposium gave trainees an opportunity to share their work and connect across Chicago’s materials research community.

08/20/2026

“The resources here are just incredible in terms of advancing my research in preparation for grad school, but the program also helped me know what my options are,” said undergrad Madison Chisolm.

Through UChicago PME’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, six students from universities across the country spent 10 weeks conducting hands-on research in The University of Chicago labs, working alongside graduate student mentors and exploring pathways to careers in science and engineering.

From advancing research skills to building a community of young scientists, the program is an investment in tomorrow’s scientific leaders.

🔗 Read more: https://pme.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/summer-program-opens-doors-tomorrows-scientific-leaders

| Photos by Jason Smith