News

Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87 gives new MIT graduates a special assignment

May 30, 2024

Biotechnology leader Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87 urged the MIT Class of 2024 to “accept impossible missions” for the betterment of the world, in a rousing keynote speech at the OneMIT Commencement ceremony this afternoon. Afeyan is chair and co-founder of the biotechnology firm Moderna, whose groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccine has been distributed to billions of people […]

Commencement address by Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87

May 30, 2024

Below is the text of MIT alumnus Noubar Afeyan’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery on May 30. Thank you, Mark, for that generous but somewhat embarrassing introduction. President Kornbluth, trustees and faculty, students and families, guests, and members of this remarkable community of scholars and solvers: It’s a special honor to be with you […]

President Sally Kornbluth’s charge to the Class of 2024

May 30, 2024

Below is the text of President Sally Kornbluth’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Penny, and Mikala ­— thank you both, for your reflections today, and for your leadership in our community. Good afternoon, everyone. It’s customary, on this day of celebration, for the president to deliver a “charge” to the graduating class. In […]

Modeling the threat of nuclear war

May 29, 2024

It’s a question that occupies significant bandwidth in the world of nuclear arms security: Could hypersonic missiles, which fly at speeds of least five times the speed of sound, increase the likelihood of nuclear war? Eli Sanchez, who recently completed his doctoral studies at MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), explored these harrowing […]

Using art and science to depict the MIT family from 1861 to the present

May 28, 2024

In MIT.nano’s laboratories, researchers use silicon wafers as the platform to shape transformative technologies such as quantum circuitry, microfluidic devices, or energy-harvesting structures. But these substrates can also serve as a canvas for an artist, as MIT Professor W. Craig Carter demonstrates in the latest One.MIT mosaic. The One.MIT project celebrates the people of MIT […]

A community collaboration for progress

May 22, 2024

While decades of discriminatory policies and practices continue to fuel the affordable housing crisis in the United States, less than three miles from the MIT campus exists a beacon of innovation and community empowerment. “We are very proud to continue MIT’s long-standing partnership with Camfield Estates,” says Catherine D’Ignazio, associate professor of urban science and […]

MIT scholars will take commercial break with entrepreneurial scholarship

May 22, 2024

Two MIT scholars, each with a strong entrepreneurial drive, have received 2024 Kavanaugh Fellowship awards, advancing their quest to turn pioneering research into profitable commercial enterprises. The Kavanaugh Translational Fellows Program gives scholars training to lead organizations that will bring their research to market. PhD candidates Grant Knappe and Arjav Shah are this year’s recipients. […]

Making steel with electricity

May 22, 2024

Steel is one of the most useful materials on the planet. A backbone of modern life, it’s used in skyscrapers, cars, airplanes, bridges, and more. Unfortunately, steelmaking is an extremely dirty process. The most common way it’s produced involves mining iron ore, reducing it in a blast furnace through the addition of coal, and then […]

2024 MAD Design Fellows announced

May 21, 2024

Since its launch in 2022, the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) has supported MIT graduate students with a fellowship, allowing recipients to pursue design research and projects while creating community. Pulling from different corners of design, they explore solutions in fields such as sustainability, health, architecture, urban planning, engineering, and social justice.  On May […]

Eleven from MIT awarded 2024 Fulbright fellowships

May 20, 2024

Eleven MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have won Fulbright grants to embark on projects overseas in the 2024-25 grant cycle. Two other students were offered awards but declined them to pursue other opportunities. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers year-long opportunities for American citizen students and recent […]