News

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) Professor […]

“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 […]

Need support while OGE is closed for the winter break?

December 11, 2025

The Institute is closed from December 25-January 2, but there are still resources available if you need help! Don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the people below. Searching for social connection or things to do? Take a look at this article for free or affordable ideas, tailored for you as a graduate student. […]

Winter break activities & connections

December 11, 2025

Note: If you need support while the Institute is closed, please don’t hesitate to use these resources. Free or discounted tickets to museums and arts events Take some time to feed your soul! If you plan ahead a little, MITAC (MIT Activities Committee) and Arts Access offer discounted tickets to concerts, museums, theater performances, ski […]

A day in the life of MIT PhD student Alex Busch

December 10, 2025

“As a student of both sociology and economics, MIT Sloan was the ideal place for me to combine both disciplines,” says Alex Busch, a PhD student. “MIT Sloan is unique in the freedom it offers its PhD students to become the researchers they aspire to be: I take classes in management, economics, and sociology, all […]

Jennifer Lewis ScD ’91: “Can we make tissues that are made from you, for you?”

December 9, 2025

“Can we make tissues that are made from you, for you?” asked Jennifer Lewis ScD ’91 at the 2025 Mildred S. Dresselhaus Lecture, organized by MIT.nano, on Nov. 3. “The grand challenge goal is to create these tissues for therapeutic use and, ultimately, at the whole organ scale.” Lewis, the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically […]