News

Supporting mission-driven space innovation, for Earth and beyond

July 10, 2025

As spaceflight becomes more affordable and accessible, the story of human life in space is just beginning. Aurelia Institute wants to make sure that future benefits all of humanity — whether in space or here on Earth.Founded by Ariel Ekblaw SM ’17, PhD ’20; Danielle DeLatte ’11; and former MIT research scientist Sana Sharma, the […]

AI shapes autonomous underwater “gliders”

July 9, 2025

Marine scientists have long marveled at how animals like fish and seals swim so efficiently despite having different shapes. Their bodies are optimized for efficient, hydrodynamic aquatic navigation so they can exert minimal energy when traveling long distances. Autonomous vehicles can drift through the ocean in a similar way, collecting data about vast underwater environments. […]

At MIT, musicians make new tools for new tunes

July 8, 2025

The MIT Music Technology Program carves out a space to explore new sounds, tunes, and experiences. From the classroom to the community, students in music tech grapple with developing both creative technology and their creative selves. In the course 21M.080 (Intro to Music Technology), it dawned on Thelonious Cooper ’25 that he had the skills […]

A new platform for developing advanced metals at scale

July 3, 2025

Companies building next-generation products and breakthrough technologies are often limited by the physical constraints of traditional materials. In aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial tooling, pushing those constraints introduces possible failure points into the system, but companies don’t have better options, given that producing new materials at scale involves multiyear timelines and huge expenses. Foundation Alloy wants […]

3 Questions: How MIT’s venture studio is partnering with MIT labs to solve “holy grail” problems

July 2, 2025

MIT Proto Ventures is the Institute’s in-house venture studio — a program designed not to support existing startups, but to create entirely new ones from the ground up. Operating at the intersection of breakthrough research and urgent real-world problems, Proto Ventures proactively builds startups that leverage MIT technologies, talent, and ideas to address high-impact industry […]

The high-tech wizardry of integrated photonics

July 2, 2025

Inspired by the “Harry Potter” stories and the Disney Channel show “Wizards of Waverly Place,” 7-year-old Sabrina Corsetti emphatically declared to her parents one afternoon that she was, in fact, a wizard. “My dad turned to me and said that, if I really wanted to be a wizard, then I should become a physicist. Physicists […]

Inspiring student growth

June 30, 2025

Professors Xiao Wang and Rodrigo Verdi, both members of the 2023-25 Committed to Caring cohort, are aiding in the development of extraordinary researchers and contributing to a collaborative culture. “Professor Xiao Wang’s caring efforts have a profound impact on the lives of her students,” one of her advisees commended. “Rodrigo’s dedication to mentoring and his […]

QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2025-26

June 18, 2025

MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 14th year in a row MIT has received this distinction. The full 2026 edition of the rankings — published by Quacquarelli Symonds, an organization specializing in education and study abroad — can be […]

Combining technology, education, and human connection to improve online learning

June 17, 2025

MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) Fellow Caitlin Morris is an architect, artist, researcher, and educator who has studied psychology and used online learning tools to teach herself coding and other skills. She’s a soft-spoken observer, with a keen interest in how people use space and respond to their environments. Combining her observational skills with active community engagement, […]

Students and staff work together for MIT’s first “No Mow May”

June 16, 2025

In recent years, some grass lawns around the country have grown a little taller in springtime thanks to No Mow May, a movement originally launched by U.K. nonprofit Plantlife in 2019 designed to raise awareness about the ecological impacts of the traditional, resource-intensive, manicured grass lawn. No Mow May encourages people to skip spring mowing […]