SCIENCE ON SHARED
The following gives information about the research groups, projects, and publications related to SHARED
Supported Projects
Dr. Diane Brentari
This project, spanning over more than two decades, involves the analysis of sign languages around the world. The scientific goals of this project are: (1) to understand the impact of modality on grammar across spoken, signed, tactile languages; (2) to understand how language emerges and the factors that have an impact on language development; and (3) to employ what we know about language variation to machine-learning and natural language processing of sign languages to improve automated translation. Over the past two decades, Professor Brentari’s group has collected 50 TB of video data on targeted tasks and narratives from over twelve sign languages that are being analyzed toward the above goals.
Sign Language Linguistics Laboratory.
Dr. Damiano Caprioli
Kinetic plasma simulations help scientists understand how particles and electromagnetic fields interact in space where particle collisions are rare. Professor Caprioli’s group uses advanced computer simulations called particle-in-cell simulations to model how magnetic fields form and how particles like electrons and nuclei get accelerated to very high speeds. These processes are important in explaining the range of light we see from cosmic sources and the origins of high-energy particles like cosmic rays and neutrinos. Powerful supercomputers allow the Caprioli group to explore how cosmic rays are created in phenomena like shock waves, magnetic turbulence, and jets from energetic astronomical objects.
Dr. John E. Carlstrom
The 10-meter South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a state-of-the-art facility designed to study the universe by observing tiny variations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The SPT has led to significant breakthroughs, such as discovering previously unknown galaxy clusters through their interactions with the CMB, detecting a specific pattern in the CMB called B-mode polarization, and providing valuable information about the fundamental properties of the universe. SPT-3G, the current camera on the SPT, is contributing to the search for primordial gravitational waves, giving insights into the highest energy processes in the universe, far beyond what terrestrial colliders can.
Dr. Susan Goldin-Meadow
This project explores how gestures made by speakers can aid in learning, specifically in helping learners remember and apply information in new contexts. It also examines how spoken and gestured input contributes to language acquisition and what fundamental properties of language develop even without linguistic input. Over the last 30 years, the project has analyzed video footage from a long-term study of 60 typical children and 40 children with brain injuries, from 14 months to 10 years old. The research also includes data on profoundly deaf children using homemade gestures (homesigns) to communicate, revealing core elements of human language. Additionally, the project studies hearing children learning math through gestures.
Dr. Nikolay Y. Gnedin
UChicago stands at the forefront of advancing the theoretical framework for modeling cosmic reionization with the “Cosmic Reionization On Computers” (CROC) initiative. The CROC project represents one of the most extensive computational endeavors in the realm of astrophysics. The project has generated the most extensive collection of fully integrated numerical simulations shedding light on the complexities of reionization. Presently, the CROC project is preparing for its forthcoming simulation campaign on exa-scale supercomputers, an endeavor facilitated by the development of simulation software tailored for GPU utilization.
Dr. Luca Grandi
The central idea behind the XENON experiments is the nature of Dark Matter. If Dark Matter consists of a novel and yet-undiscovered elementary particle species, it could potentially interact with regular matter, resulting in infrequent, low-energy depositions. Employing an array of progressively larger xenon liquid-based detectors characterized by ultra-low background levels, the program’s latest embodiment, XENONnT, is now operational. Interactions of candidate Dark Matter particles within the detectors instigate the emission of prompt light signals. These light signals undergo waveform conversion via the Data Acquisition System before being archived for subsequent offline analysis. Upon completion of the processing, the refined output data is copied to UChicago’s Midway3 High-Performance Computing cluster, which serves as a singular locus where the entire XENON collaboration.
Dr. Yau W. Wah
Professor Wah’s team aims to uncover physics beyond the Standard Model by examining CP symmetry violation through the decay of neutral kaons into a neutral pion and two neutrinos. This investigation is crucial since the Standard Model fails to explain the matter-antimatter imbalance in the universe. The experiment relies on an electromagnetic calorimeter to detect photon pairs from the neutral pion, ensuring the transverse momentum offsets that of the neutrinos. The upgraded Data Acquisition System will allow the team to achieve their objective of observing events at Standard Model sensitivity levels in the next 3 to 4 years.
Dr. Jai Yu
Contribution of coordinated brain activity to learning and memory – One fundamental function of the brain is to learn from experience and use the knowledge to solve new problems. In mammalian brains, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are key regions required for this. Although experiments across many mammalian species have shown the critical roles of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, it is still unknown how coordinated activity between these regions supports learning. Professor Yu’s group aims to understand the contribution of these regions to learning and memory formation by recording and manipulating coordinated activity across these regions during cognitive tasks. These approaches yield rich neural and behavioral datasets for understanding the relationship between these brain regions during learning. These experiments will allow us to understand how coordinated activity across these brain regions as well as how behavior changes over the course of learning.
Publications
- Content to come
Acknowledgement Statement
Please using the following statement in your publications to acknowledge SHARED:
Content to come