UChicago Explainer Series

Coined by University of Chicago astrophysicist Michael Turner in 1998, dark energy—the force causing the universe to expand faster over time—remains one of the great mysteries of physics.

Modern improv comedy began at the University of Chicago in the 1950s.

The world’s first reactor was built underneath the stands of a University of Chicago stadium as part of the Manhattan Project—kicking off the Atomic Age.

First developed in the late 1940s at UChicago, carbon dating can determine the age of organic materials as old as 60,000 years.

Scientists are very hopeful about these new treatments, which use the body’s own defense system to shut down cancer.

Social work is a field of study and profession aimed at addressing problems in society—from educational inequality to health disparities to child and family welfare.

Using the world as a lab, UChicago economists pioneered the use of field experiments in their groundbreaking research.

We spend a third of our lives asleep, and it’s as important as food, water or air to our survival. But scientists are still working to understand the exact nature of sleep and why it’s so important.

The quantum internet is a theorized network of interconnected quantum computers that will one day allow us to exchange and compute data using quantum technology.

A term coined by UChicago Egyptologist James Henry Breasted, “The Fertile Crescent” refers to a region in Western Asia that gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations.