News

One pull of a string is all it takes to deploy these complex structures

December 23, 2025

MIT researchers have developed a new method for designing 3D structures that can be transformed from a flat configuration into their curved, fully formed shape with only a single pull of a string.This technique could enable the rapid deployment of a temporary field hospital at the site of a disaster such as a devastating tsunami […]

MIT community in 2025: A year in review

December 22, 2025

In 2025, MIT maintained its standard of community and research excellence amidst a shift in national priorities regarding the federal funding of higher education. Notably, QS ranked MIT No. 1 in the world for the 14th straight year, while U.S. News ranked MIT No. 2 in the nation for the 5th straight year. This year, President Sally […]

Q&A: The secret sauce behind successful collegiate dining

December 18, 2025

MIT Director of Dining Andrew Mankus has been serving the Institute community since his arrival on campus in June. He brings a wealth of energy and experience — and a problem-solver’s sensibilities — to food service at MIT. Most recently, he led dining at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which has won the top […]

Building reuse into the materials around us

December 18, 2025

In a field defined by discovering, designing, and processing the materials that underpin modern technology, Diran Apelian ScD ’73 has a resounding message: Reuse can’t remain just the focus of a PhD thesis or a startup. It needs to be engineered from the beginning. Apelian, a metallurgist and MIT alumnus known for his pioneering work […]

Digital innovations and cultural heritage in rural towns

December 17, 2025

Population decline often goes hand-in-hand with economic stagnation in rural areas — and the two reinforce each other in a cycle. Can digital technologies advance equitable innovation and, at the same time, preserve cultural heritage in shrinking regions? A new open-access book, edited by MIT Vice Provost and Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) […]

“Robot, make me a chair”

December 16, 2025

Computer-aided design (CAD) systems are tried-and-true tools used to design many of the physical objects we use each day. But CAD software requires extensive expertise to master, and many tools incorporate such a high level of detail they don’t lend themselves to brainstorming or rapid prototyping. In an effort to make design faster and more […]

MIT community members elected to the National Academy of Inventors for 2025

December 15, 2025

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named nine MIT affiliates as members of the 2025 class of NAI Fellows. They include Ahmad Bahai, an MIT professor of the practice in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and Kripa K. Varanasi, MIT professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as seven additional […]

Working to eliminate barriers to adopting nuclear energy

December 15, 2025

What if there were a way to solve one of the most significant obstacles to the use of nuclear energy — the disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW)? Dauren Sarsenbayev, a third-year doctoral student at the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), is addressing the challenge as part of his research. Sarsenbayev focuses on […]

A better DNA material for genetic medicine

December 12, 2025

To our immune system, a potentially lifesaving gene therapy can look a lot like a dangerous infection. That’s because most genetic medicine uses viruses or double-stranded DNA to deliver genetic information to target cells. DNA in its traditional double helix form can lead to toxic immune stimulation and be difficult to package into cellular delivery […]

Lisa Su ’90, SM ’91, PhD ’94 to deliver MIT’s 2026 Commencement address

December 11, 2025

Lisa Su ’90, SM ’91, PhD ’94, a leading executive in the semiconductor industry and head of the company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), will deliver the address at the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 28. As chair and CEO of AMD, Su has transformed the company, which is now a global leader in high-performance […]