News

Studies of unusual brains reveal critical insights into brain organization, function

February 24, 2023

E.G. (a pseudonym) is an accomplished woman in her early 60s: She is a college graduate and has an advanced professional degree. She has a stellar vocabulary — in the 98th percentile, according to tests — and has mastered a foreign language (Russian) to the point that she sometimes dreams in it. She also has, […]

How MIT helped young Roxbury photographers of the 1960s turn pro

February 24, 2023

Fifty years ago, Roxbury was the poorest neighborhood in Boston, just as it is now. Back then, its predominantly Black residents lived with intense and open racism. Hundreds of Roxbury buildings had been knocked down for a highway that was never built, leaving vacant lots. Nationally, the Vietnam War and the Black Power movement were […]

Student-led conference charts the future of micro- and nanoscale research, reinforces scientific community

February 24, 2023

Snowshoeing and microelectronics are not often mentioned together in the same sentence, but at the Microsystems Annual Research Conference (MARC), winter activities, technical talks, and poster sessions all combine for a two-day flurry of research celebrations. Returning to the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire on Jan. 24-25 for the first time since before […]

MIT efforts support earthquake relief for communities in Turkey and Syria

February 16, 2023

The catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 has left more than 41,000 people dead, and many more still not counted under the rubble. More than a million people have been left homeless in Turkey alone. Bilge Yildiz, MIT professor of nuclear science and of materials science and engineering, was born and […]

Priscilla King Gray, co-founder and namesake of Institute’s public service center, dies at 89

February 16, 2023

Priscilla King Gray, an integral part of the fabric at MIT for more than 50 years, died on Feb. 8. She was 89. Gray, who had been the wife of former MIT president Paul Gray ’54, SM ’55, ScD ’60 until his death in 2017, co-founded the MIT Public Service Center — since renamed in […]

Democratizing education: Bringing MIT excellence to the masses

February 15, 2023

How do you quantify the value of education or measure success? For the team behind the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society’s (IDSS) MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science (SDS), providing over 1,000 individuals from around the globe with access to MIT-level programming feels like a pretty good place to start.  Thanks to […]

GSC Institute Awards – Nominations are now open!

February 15, 2023

Every year, the GSC gives out four Institute Awards to be presented at the Institute Awards Convocation. The awards are: Nomination of students and faculty for these awards offer a unique opportunity to honor these individuals for their invaluable contributions to graduate students and to thank them for their efforts. A complete nomination requires a […]

“MIT Illuminations,” a colorful installation to creative computation, is open in Kendall Square

February 14, 2023

Recently, MIT Admissions and MIT Open Space Programming jointly launched a new lighting installation, “MIT Illuminations,” in partnership with SOSO, an MIT-alumni founded experiential design firm. The installation spans 120 linear feet, indirectly illuminating an acoustical fabric frieze within the new MIT Welcome Center, and by night transforming the center into a colorful, inviting beacon […]

Learning challenges shape a mechanical engineer’s path

February 12, 2023

Before James Hermus started elementary school, he was a happy, curious kid who loved to learn. By the end of first grade, however, all that started to change, he says. As his schoolbooks became more advanced, Hermus could no longer memorize the words on each page, and pretend to be reading. He clearly knew the […]

Angela Davis: “We need to renew our commitments to struggle against racism”

February 9, 2023

MIT’s 49th annual Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took place Wednesday before an overflow crowd at Morss Hall and featured activist and author Angela Y. Davis as its keynote speaker. The celebration luncheon was the lead event in a week of activities honoring the civil rights leader, and […]