News

Encouraging a scientific habit of the mind

April 19, 2023

As a child growing up in northern Nigeria, Abdullahi Tsanni always knew he had a passion for writing. Some of his earliest memories are trying to read his mother’s writings in Arabic and Hausa. It was in secondary school when Tsanni also developed an interest in science. When Tsanni was studying biochemistry at Ahmadu Bello […]

Podcast: Curiosity Unbounded, Episode 1 — How a free-range kid from Maine is helping green-up industrial practices

April 19, 2023

The Curiosity Unbounded podcast is a conversation between MIT President Sally Kornbluth and newly-tenured faculty members. President Kornbluth invites us to listen in as she dives into the research happening in MIT’s labs and in the field. Along the way, she and her guests discuss pressing issues, as well as what inspires the people running […]

Yael Tauman Kalai PhD ’06 awarded 2022 ACM Prize in Computing

April 19, 2023

Yael Tauman Kalai PhD ’06, an MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) adjunct professor, member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), and senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research has been awarded the 2022 ACM Prize in Computing for “breakthroughs in verifiable delegation of computation and fundamental contributions to […]

Ellen Roche and Justin Solomon named Edgerton Award winners

April 19, 2023

MIT associate professors Ellen Roche of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) and Justin Solomon of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) have been named the 2023 winners of MIT’s annual Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award. Established in fall 1982, the award exists as a permanent tribute to the late Institute […]

MIT Energy Conference grapples with geopolitics

April 18, 2023

As Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, this year’s MIT Energy Conference spotlighted the role of geopolitics in the world’s efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Each year, the student-run conference, which its organizers say is the largest of its kind, brings together leaders from around the […]

Taking the guesswork out of the architecture business

April 13, 2023

Managing a building or renovation project really means managing a series of disparate, interconnected tasks. Something as small as a kitchen renovation might involve half a dozen subcontractors including plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and painters. The complexity makes cost and time overruns common. On the other hand, “Architecture is a passion business,” says Moe Amaya MA […]

MIT CSAIL researchers discuss frontiers of generative AI

April 12, 2023

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has ignited a deep philosophical exploration into the nature of consciousness, creativity, and authorship. As we bear witness to new advances in the field, it’s increasingly apparent that these synthetic agents possess a remarkable capacity to create, iterate, and challenge our traditional notions of intelligence. But what does it […]

Responding to Ukraine’s “ocean of suffering”

April 11, 2023

Within 72 hours of the first Russian missiles striking Kyiv, Ukraine, in February 2022, Ian Miller SM ’19 boarded a flight for Poland. Later, he’d say he felt motivated by Kyiv’s “tragic ocean of suffering” and Ukrainian President Zelensky’s pleas for help. But he arrived with little notion of what to do. As he’d anticipated, […]

The buzz on keeping bees

April 11, 2023

Are you wary of bee stings? Maybe you are one of about 7.5 percent of Americans who, according to BeeAware, are severely allergic to insect venom? Even if you are bee-averse, it is important to remember that bees play a vital role in pollinating approximately one-third of our food supply. This includes more than 130 […]

Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, influential researcher in human hearing science, dies at 93

April 7, 2023

Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, an internationally recognized scientist known for his influential research into speech and hearing, as well as his dedication to enhancing academic exchange between Chinese and American scientists, died March 19 at his home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. He was 93. Kiang was a principal research scientist in the Research […]