Legal scholar Martha Minow delivered this fall’s Compton Lecture at MIT on Thursday, examining the civic foundations of democracy — and describing how artificial intelligence is undermining it, but could be used to help reinforce traditional U.S. governance. “It’s not a good time for democracy or constitutionalism,” said Minow, who is the 300th Anniversary University Professor […]
At MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Professor Fan Wang tackles innovative research every day. Her work centers on a fundamental question in neuroscience: How does the brain interact with the body to shape our sensations, emotions, and actions? Wang and the students in her lab study the neural circuits underlying experiences such as touch […]
Since its launch two years ago, MIT’s Doctors Without Gravity club has already amassed more than 100 student members. The club was co-founded by graduate students Anna Wadhwa and Nicole McGaa, who now serve as president and vice president, respectively. Bringing together students from MIT and Harvard University who are interested in the intersection of […]
Establishing a human presence on the moon will require state-of-the-art spacecraft, spacesuits, life-support systems, and some of the most sophisticated technology humans have ever built. It will also require figuring out where to put the garbage. A future lunar outpost will receive a steady stream of supplies from Earth, bringing packaging and other materials that […]
Suzy M. Nelson, MIT vice chancellor for student life since 2016, will retire from the Institute this month. Nelson leaves MIT with a strong, coordinated Division of Student Life (DSL) built from years of close partnership with student leaders. One of her most noteworthy contributions is the elevation of student well-being, now integral to the […]
More than 100 people filled the MIT Chapel on Sept. 24 to pay tribute to Assistant Professor Thomas Rose, the MIT archaeometallurgist who died last month following a bicycle crash in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Faculty, students, and staff affiliated with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) and the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology […]
Robert E. Hall PhD ’67 and Michael Woodford PhD ’83, scholars who both earned their doctorates at MIT, have been awarded the 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Hall, a professor at Stanford University, and Woodford, a professor at Columbia University, were recognized for work that helped revitalize ideas […]
A look back on National Student Parent Month 2026 Celebrating MIT’s graduate student parents This past September, the Office of Graduate Education celebrated National Student by highlighting four graduate students who are balancing their studies while raising children. Nicholas Maurer and his family moved all the way from Australia so that he could pursue his […]
“What you see is what you get” is a guiding principle for many software engineers — create programs where the content you’re editing looks the same as the final product. But when you’re using generative artificial intelligence systems to 3D print, say, a mug, you’ll likely get a cup that can’t hold your coffee. Why is […]
On the first day of class 16.445J/STS.468J (Entrepreneurship in Aerospace and Mobility Systems), David Mindell, MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics (AeroAstro) and the Frances and David Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing, asked his students to take a look at an image of a textbook. The cover featured a bright and […]
