News

Engineering fantasy into reality

August 26, 2025

Growing up in the suburban town of Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston, Erik Ballesteros couldn’t help but be drawn in by the possibilities for humans in space. It was the early 2000s, and NASA’s space shuttle program was the main transport for astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Ballesteros’ hometown was less than […]

Marcus Stergio named ombudsperson

August 22, 2025

Marcus Stergio will join the MIT Ombuds Office on Aug. 25, bringing over a decade of experience as a mediator and conflict-management specialist. Previously an ombuds at the U.S. Department of Labor, Stergio will be part of MIT’s ombuds team, working alongside Judi Segall. The MIT Ombuds Office provides a confidential, independent resource for all members […]

Study links rising temperatures and declining moods

August 21, 2025

Rising global temperatures affect human activity in many ways. Now, a new study illuminates an important dimension of the problem: Very hot days are associated with more negative moods, as shown by a large-scale look at social media postings. Overall, the study examines 1.2 billion social media posts from 157 countries over the span of […]

Graduate work with an impact — in big cities and on campus

August 20, 2025

While working to boost economic development in Detroit in the late 2010s, Nick Allen found he was running up against a problem. The city was trying to spur more investment after long-term industrial flight to suburbs and other states. Relying more heavily on property taxes for revenue, the city was negotiating individualized tax deals with […]

Professor John Joannopoulos, photonics pioneer and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies director, dies at 78

August 19, 2025

John “JJ” Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics at MIT and director of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), passed away on Aug. 17. He was 78.  Joannopoulos was a prolific researcher in the field of theoretical condensed-matter physics, and an early pioneer in the study and application of photonic crystals. Many […]

The art and science of being an MIT teaching assistant

August 13, 2025

“It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done at MIT,” says Haley Nakamura, a second-year MEng student in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). She’s not reflecting on a class, final exam, or research paper. Nakamura is talking about the experience of being a teaching assistant (TA). “It’s really an art […]

Harvey Kent Bowen, ceramics scholar and MIT Leaders for Global Operations co-founder, dies at 83

August 11, 2025

Harvey Kent Bowen PhD ’71, a longtime MIT professor celebrated for his pioneering work in manufacturing education, innovative ceramics research, and generous mentorship, died July 17 in Belmont, Massachusetts. He was 83. At MIT, he was the founding engineering faculty leader of Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) — now Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) — a […]

Better public service with data

August 11, 2025

Davi Augusto Oliveira Pinto’s career in Brazil’s foreign service took him all over the world. His work as a diplomat for more than two decades exposed him to the realities of life for all kinds of people, which informed his interest in economics and public policy.  Oliveira Pinto is now focused on strengthening his diplomatic […]

3 Questions: Measuring the financial impact of design in the built environment

August 7, 2025

The various aspects of design — such as creation, function, and aesthetic — can be applied to many different disciplines and provide them with a value. While this is universally true for architecture, it has not traditionally been acknowledged for real estate, despite the close association between the two. Traditionally, real estate valuation has been […]

Professor Emeritus Peter Temin, influential and prolific economic historian, dies at 87

August 6, 2025

Peter Temin PhD ’64, the MIT Elisha Gray II Professor of Economics, emeritus, passed away on Aug. 4. He was 87.  Temin was a preeminent economic historian whose work spanned a remarkable range of topics, from the British Industrial Revolution and Roman economic history to the causes of the Great Depression and, later in his […]