Chicago Tech News Today

Alex Wellerstein explores the history of the Chicago Pile-1, which achieved the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in December 1942. This pioneering milestone in nuclear engineering ultimately paved the way for the Trinity test and the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

A new interactive tool called NYC MapTap helps users learn New York City neighborhoods and subway routes. Shared on Hacker News, the project has been well received by the tech community, inspiring developers to build similar educational maps for other cities like Chicago.

Y Combinator batch S26 startup Rise Reforming is hiring a Senior Chemical Process Engineer to lead the scaling of its catalytic technologies from pilot to commercial production. The in-person Chicago area position requires expertise in pilot plant operations and gas-to-liquids processes, offering a base salary of over $125,000 plus equity. This role provides a direct career path to become the company's VP of Engineering or Chief Engineer as the startup expands.

In response to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, the University of Chicago Law School is overhauling its curriculum to foster AI-resilient critical thinking and prioritize essential human lawyering skills. The updated policies ban electronic devices in first-year core courses and mandate oral defenses for major writing assignments to prevent students from relying on AI shortcuts. Additionally, the school is integrating comprehensive training on the ethical and effective use of AI tools across legal research, electives, and clinical programs.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed his first home in Illinois at the age of 22. He lived in the residence for 20 years.

Starting July 1, California will prohibit streaming services from broadcasting excessively loud advertisements. The new legislation aims to protect viewers from jarring volume spikes during ad breaks. This follows a similar law in Illinois, giving platforms an increased incentive to normalize ad audio volumes across the board.

Researchers led by Qing Cao have developed a scalable method for sequentially stacking high-performance silicon circuits to create advanced three-dimensional chips. This breakthrough overcomes the physical limitations of traditional manufacturing and provides a promising pathway to extend Moore's Law.

Chicago music superfan Aadam Jacobs is uploading his personal collection of over 10,000 rare concert recordings to the Internet Archive. He has been capturing these live shows since the 1980s, creating a massive digital repository available for public access.