News

The art and science of being an MIT teaching assistant

August 13, 2025

“It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done at MIT,” says Haley Nakamura, a second-year MEng student in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). She’s not reflecting on a class, final exam, or research paper. Nakamura is talking about the experience of being a teaching assistant (TA). “It’s really an art […]

Harvey Kent Bowen, ceramics scholar and MIT Leaders for Global Operations co-founder, dies at 83

August 11, 2025

Harvey Kent Bowen PhD ’71, a longtime MIT professor celebrated for his pioneering work in manufacturing education, innovative ceramics research, and generous mentorship, died July 17 in Belmont, Massachusetts. He was 83. At MIT, he was the founding engineering faculty leader of Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) — now Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) — a […]

Better public service with data

August 11, 2025

Davi Augusto Oliveira Pinto’s career in Brazil’s foreign service took him all over the world. His work as a diplomat for more than two decades exposed him to the realities of life for all kinds of people, which informed his interest in economics and public policy.  Oliveira Pinto is now focused on strengthening his diplomatic […]

3 Questions: Measuring the financial impact of design in the built environment

August 7, 2025

The various aspects of design — such as creation, function, and aesthetic — can be applied to many different disciplines and provide them with a value. While this is universally true for architecture, it has not traditionally been acknowledged for real estate, despite the close association between the two. Traditionally, real estate valuation has been […]

Professor Emeritus Peter Temin, influential and prolific economic historian, dies at 87

August 6, 2025

Peter Temin PhD ’64, the MIT Elisha Gray II Professor of Economics, emeritus, passed away on Aug. 4. He was 87.  Temin was a preeminent economic historian whose work spanned a remarkable range of topics, from the British Industrial Revolution and Roman economic history to the causes of the Great Depression and, later in his […]

MIT tool visualizes and edits “physically impossible” objects

August 4, 2025

M.C. Escher’s artwork is a gateway into a world of depth-defying optical illusions, featuring “impossible objects” that break the laws of physics with convoluted geometries. What you perceive his illustrations to be depends on your point of view — for example, a person seemingly walking upstairs may be heading down the steps if you tilt […]

Youssef Marzouk appointed associate dean of MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

August 1, 2025

Youssef Marzouk ’97, SM ’99, PhD ’04, the Breene M. Kerr (1951) Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro) at MIT, has been appointed associate dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, effective July 1. Marzouk, who has served as co-director of the Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE) since 2018, […]

3 Questions: Applying lessons in data, economics, and policy design to the real world

July 24, 2025

Gevorg Minasyan MAP ’23 first discovered the MITx MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) — jointly led by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and MIT Open Learning — when he was looking to better understand the process of building effective, evidence-based policies while working at the Central Bank of […]

MIT Learn offers “a whole new front door to the Institute”

July 21, 2025

In 2001, MIT became the first higher education institution to provide educational resources for free to anyone in the world. Fast forward 24 years: The Institute has now launched a dynamic AI-enabled website for its non-degree learning opportunities, making it easier for learners around the world to discover the courses and resources available on MIT’s […]

Helping cities evolve

July 17, 2025

Growing up in Paris, Vincent Rollet was exposed to the world beyond France from an early age. His dad was an engineer who traveled around the globe to set up electrical infrastructure, and he moved the family to the United States for two years when Rollet was a small child. His father’s work sparked Rollet’s […]