News

Mining valuable insights from diamonds

May 31, 2022

If Changhao Li were to trace the origins of his love of nature, he would point to the time when he was 9, observing the night sky from his childhood home in the small town of Jinan, China. “At that moment I felt that nature is so beautiful, I just wanted to go outside the […]

Linguistics luminaries Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle honored

May 27, 2022

Nearly 60 years ago, Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle established the MIT Department of Linguistics. This spring, the department dedicated a wing of its Stata Center home to these founding fathers. “Together, they defined and transformed the entire field of linguistics,” says Danny Fox, the Anshen-Chomsky Professor of Language and Thought and department head. “Naming […]

“The world needs your smarts, your skills,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala tells MIT’s Class of 2022

May 27, 2022

On a clear warm day, the MIT graduating class of 2022 gathered in Killian Court for the first in-person commencement exercises in three years, after two years of online ceremonies due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala MCP ’78, PhD ’81, director-general of the World Trade Organization, delivered the Commencement address, stressing the global need […]

Chancellor Melissa Nobles’ Commencement remarks

May 27, 2022

Below is the text of Chancellor Melissa Nobles’ Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Thank you, President Reif. And good afternoon everyone! It is wonderful to have the chance to say few words of admiration, gratitude, and, above all, congratulations to our Class of 2022 graduates, and to the family, loved ones, and friends […]

President L. Rafael Reif’s charge to the Class of 2022

May 27, 2022

Below is the text of President L. Rafael Reif’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. To the graduates of 2022:  Congratulations!  My job today is to deliver a “charge” to you… and I will get to that in a minute. But first, I want to recognize the people who helped you charge this far! To everyone […]

A helping hand for robotic manipulator design

May 25, 2022

MIT researchers have created an interactive design pipeline that streamlines and simplifies the process of crafting a customized robotic hand with tactile sensors. Typically, a robotics expert may spend months manually designing a custom manipulator, largely through trial-and-error. Each iteration could require new parts that must be designed and tested from scratch. By contrast, this […]

Bringing hope and transformation to the Democratic Republic of Congo

May 24, 2022

MIT graduate student Milain Fayulu is on a mission. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fayulu is telling, and selling, the story of his nation in the hope of aiding its people and transforming its economy. For decades, the DRC has been hobbled by corruption and bloody civil conflicts. “I grew up with […]

President Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson of Iceland visits MIT

May 24, 2022

Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, the president of Iceland, visited MIT on Friday, engaging in talks with several campus leaders and professors, and touring the Media Lab. Jóhannesson visited the Institute along with a substantial delegation of officials and scholars from Iceland. They met with MIT scholars, who delivered a variety of presentations on research, design, and […]

MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium announces recipients of inaugural MCSC Seed Awards

May 23, 2022

The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) has awarded 20 projects a total of $5 million over two years in its first-ever 2022 MCSC Seed Awards program. The winning projects are led by principal investigators across all five of MIT’s schools. The goal of the MCSC Seed Awards is to engage MIT researchers and link the […]

Living Climate Futures initiative showcases holistic approach to the climate crisis

May 23, 2022

The sun shone bright and warm on the Dertouzos Amphitheater at the Stata Center this past Earth Day as a panel of Indigenous leaders from across the country talked about their experiences with climate activism and shared their natural world philosophies — a worldview that sees humanity as one with the rest of the Earth. […]