News

How to design a space habitat that supports its residents’ mental health

August 12, 2026

In extreme environments, habitats are built for survival. Submarines, Antarctic bases, and postdisaster dwellings are designed to prioritize health and safety. This is especially the case for habitats in space, where room is at a minimum, contact with Earth is remote, and hazards are numerous. But as humans plan for longer journeys to the moon and […]

3 Questions: MIT Sloan launches Evening MBA

August 11, 2026

The MIT Sloan School of Management is launching an Evening MBA program designed for high-performing individuals who want to earn an MBA while continuing to work. Beginning with its first cohort in August 2027, the 22-month program will offer the same academic rigor, admissions standards, and world-class faculty as MIT Sloan’s existing MBA programs, providing a […]

On the hunt for dark matter

August 11, 2026

Physicists across the globe are on a quest for a particle that makes up nearly 85 percent of all matter in the universe, yet no one has ever directly detected it. Jessica Fry, a fifth-year physics PhD candidate in the Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS), is one such hunter. Fry grew up in the San Francisco […]

With a feel for physics, AI models simulate a wider range of real-world scenarios

August 10, 2026

Artificial intelligence models are jacks of many trades, including writing, generating images, and creating 3D models. But they aren’t as helpful when it comes to testing robots or designs for vehicles in diverse environments, since they don’t understand physics as well as they do pixels or text. To build an AI system that can reliably […]

Akirah Bradley-Armstrong named vice chancellor for student life

August 6, 2026

MIT has appointed Akirah Bradley-Armstrong as vice chancellor for student life, effective Oct. 19, 2026.  The appointment, following a national search, was announced yesterday in a letter sent to the MIT community from Chancellor Melissa Nobles, to whom Bradley-Armstrong will report. Bradley-Armstrong will succeed Vice Chancellor for Student Life Suzy M. Nelson, who transformed student life […]

These 3D-printed objects can tell you if they’re being used properly

August 5, 2026

Imagine a bottle of hazardous chemicals sitting on a laboratory shelf that changes its appearance to alert scientists that its lid is not properly secured, potentially preventing a dangerous spill. A new 3D-printing system created by MIT researchers enables users to produce interactive objects like this chemical bottle, which change their appearance when they are […]

Connecting students with the future of microelectronics

August 3, 2026

The 2026 Northeast Microelectronics Internship Program (NMIP), organized by the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories, brought together 30 exceptional students from leading universities across the Northeast for an immersive week exploring the rapidly evolving world of semiconductor technology and microelectronics. Held July 13-17, the externship provided undergraduate students with an opportunity to experience the complete microelectronics […]

Using reason, again and again

August 2, 2026

You probably think you are rational. Day to day, you try to “make the best possible use of the information available to you,” as MIT philosopher Brian Hedden PhD ’12 writes in his 2015 book, “Reasons without Persons.”  If you think you are rational because of how you plan for the future, and change your […]

Building energy security through more sustainable batteries

July 31, 2026

For Hugh Smith, the challenge of building an energy-secure future isn’t about creating the world’s “best” battery. It’s about designing the right battery for the right job. As a fifth-year PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Smith studies sodium-ion batteries, an emerging alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that power everything from […]

Connecting research to policy on Capitol Hill

July 30, 2026

This spring, 25 MIT students and postdocs traveled to Washington to meet with congressional staffers and advocate for sustained federal investment in scientific research.  With recent cuts to National Science Foundation programs and continued uncertainty surrounding the federal research budget, these conversations were especially timely. Over the course of just two days, participants met with […]