The First ‘Hello’: Bridging Worlds in a Symphony of Minds
Walking through the iconic corridors of MIT, I am constantly reminded of the sheer brilliance that surrounds me. Here, every corner seems to buzz with the promise of innovation and breakthrough. Yet, amidst this symphony of intellect, a silent beat throbs—the universal quest for connection. Since the day I received my offer letter, I had […]
Cynthia Breazeal
Cynthia Breazeal is a published author, international award winner, entrepreneur, and thought leader. Even so, some might argue that her most significant achievements lie in her extensive track record of mentorship and teaching, particularly her dedication to her research group. Breazeal is a professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, where she founded and […]
Ming Guo
When Professor Ming Guo first set foot in Cambridge in 2007, fresh from earning his bachelor’s degree at Tsinghua University in China, he could hardly have imagined that he would one day become a professor at MIT. Today, Guo is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, celebrated not only for his groundbreaking research but also […]
Balancing economic development with natural resources protection
It’s one of the paradoxes of economic development: Many countries currently offer large subsidies to their industrial fishing fleets, even though the harms of overfishing are well-known. Governments might be willing to end this practice, if they saw that its costs outweighed its benefits. But each country, acting individually, faces an incentive to keep subsidies […]
Sharikka Finley-Moise
Monday: 3-136Tuesday: RemoteWednesday: RemoteThursday: 3-136Friday: Remote I can help you with academic and personal challenges, advisor concerns, health and/or mental health issues, and medical leave. A fun fact about me is that I am a huge music buff and have tons of facts to share about all genres of music!
Mission directors announced for the Climate Project at MIT
The Climate Project at MIT has appointed leaders for each of its six focal areas, or Climate Missions, President Sally Kornbluth announced in a letter to the MIT community today. Introduced in February, the Climate Project at MIT is a major new effort to change the trajectory of global climate outcomes for the better over […]
Three MIT professors named 2024 Vannevar Bush Fellows
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has announced three MIT professors among the members of the 2024 class of the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF). The fellowship is the DoD’s flagship single-investigator award for research, inviting the nation’s most talented researchers to pursue ambitious ideas that defy conventional boundaries. Domitilla Del Vecchio, professor of mechanical […]
MIT affiliates named 2024 HHMI Investigators
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) today announced its 2024 investigators, four of whom hail from the School of Science at MIT: Steven Flavell, Mary Gehring, Mehrad Jazayeri, and Gene-Wei Li. Four others with MIT ties were also honored: Jonathan Abraham, graduate of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program; Dmitriy Aronov PhD ’10; Vijay Sankaran, graduate of the Harvard/MIT […]
Money matters: Part 1
Financial stress is often assumed to be an unavoidable part of the graduate student experience. But does it have to be that way? With a bit of planning and discipline, I have been able to save up enough money to pay off my undergraduate student loans, fund a retirement account, buy a new phone, and […]
“The dance between autonomy and affinity creates morality”
MIT philosophy doctoral student Abe Mathew believes individual rights play an important role in protecting the autonomy we value. But he also thinks we risk serious dysfunction if we ignore the importance of supporting and helping others. “We should also acknowledge another feature of our moral lives,” he says, “namely, our need for affinity or […]
Math program promotes global community for at-risk Ukrainian high schoolers
When Sophia Breslavets first heard about Yulia’s Dream, the MIT Department of Mathematics’ Program for Research in Mathematics, Engineering, and Science (PRIMES) for Ukrainian students, Russia had just invaded her country, and she and her family lived in a town 20 miles from the Russian border. Breslavets had attended a school that emphasized mathematics and physics, took math […]
Collaborative effort supports an MIT resilient to the impacts of extreme heat
Warmer weather can be a welcome change for many across the MIT community. But as climate impacts intensify, warm days are often becoming hot days with increased severity and frequency. Already this summer, heat waves in June and July brought daily highs of over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Resilient Cambridge report published in 2021, […]
Graduate appointments: RA, TA, IG
Research Assistant (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), and Instructor-G (IG) appointments are often part of a graduate student’s financial support. Full details about these funding types are available under Graduate appointments. Maximum units for Research Assistants and Teaching Assistants A department or program may set a maximum number of units for which its student employees may […]
Machine learning and the microscope
With recent advances in imaging, genomics and other technologies, the life sciences are awash in data. If a biologist is studying cells taken from the brain tissue of Alzheimer’s patients, for example, there could be any number of characteristics they want to investigate — a cell’s type, the genes it’s expressing, its location within the tissue, […]
2024 MIT Inclusive Pathways to the PhD Summit Agenda
Agenda for the 2024 MIT Inclusive Pathways to the PhD Summit Agenda details are subject to change. July 30, 2024 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Welcome dinner and networking mixer Location: Row 34 restaurantHosted by Denzil Streete, Senior Associate Dean, Office of Graduate Education July 31, 2024 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: BreakfastLocation: MIT Museum Sharp […]
Community members receive 2024 MIT Excellence Awards, Collier Medal, and Staff Award for Distinction in Service
On Wednesday, June 5, 13 individuals and four teams were awarded MIT Excellence Awards — the highest awards for staff at the Institute. Colleagues holding signs, waving pompoms, and cheering gathered in Kresge Auditorium to show their support for the honorees. In addition to the Excellence Awards, staff members were honored with the Collier Medal, […]
Talking to myself through a reverse to-do list
Communication is the most important skill I have developed in grad school. The types of communication we usually think about are technical and interpersonal communication, such as publishing and presenting your research, or communicating with your advisor. However, one type of communication I overlooked in my first year was communicating to myself. As a first […]
Investigating the past to see technology’s future
The MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) recently organized and hosted a two-day symposium, The History of Technology: Past, Present, and Future. The symposium was held June 7-8 at MIT’s Wong Auditorium, and featured scholars from a variety of institutions with expertise in the history of technology. Each presented their ideas about the […]
Table: Grad student leaves, accommodations, & time away
The summary below helps graduate students understand their eligibility for various types of academic and employment leaves, accommodations, and other time away. Specifically, the information below provides a high-level snapshot of this eligibility based upon appointment/funding status. Click on each appointment/funding status to view eligibility for leaves, accommodations, and other time off from academics and […]
A photographic ode to Cambridge and Boston
Sunsets over the Charles River have my heart ❤️ What is home for you? Everyone has a different concept of home. For some people, a space enclosed by four walls in which they live is home, and for some it is a certain city or town. People like me who have traveled across the globe […]
Studying astrophysically relevant plasma physics
Thomas Varnish loves his hobbies — knitting, baking, pottery — it’s a long list. His latest interest is analog film photography. A picture with his mother and another with his boyfriend are just a few of Varnish’s favorites. “These moments of human connection are the ones I like,” he says. Varnish’s love of capturing a […]
Signal processing: How did we get to where we’re going?
On May 24, Ford Professor of Engineering Al Oppenheim addressed a standing-room-only audience at MIT to give the talk of a lifetime. Entitled “Signal Processing: How Did We Get to Where We’re Going?”, Oppenheim’s personal account of his involvement in the early years of the digital signal processing field included a photo retrospective — and […]
Summer 2024 recommended reading from MIT
MIT faculty and staff authors have published a plethora of books, chapters, and other literary contributions in the past year. The following titles represent some of their works published in the past 12 months. Looking for more literary works from the MIT community? Enjoy our book lists from 2023, 2022, and 2021. Happy reading! Novel, […]
The rules of the game
At the core of Raymond Wang’s work lies a seemingly simple question: Can’t we just get along? Wang, a fifth-year political science graduate student, is a native of Hong Kong who witnessed firsthand the shakeup and conflict engendered by China’s takeover of the former British colony. “That type of experience makes you wonder why things […]
Pioneering the future of materials extraction
The next time you cook pasta, imagine that you are cooking spaghetti, rigatoni, and seven other varieties all together, and they need to be separated onto 10 different plates before serving. A colander can remove the water — but you still have a mound of unsorted noodles. Now imagine that this had to be done for […]
Erik Lin-Greenberg
“He has encouraged me when I’ve been struggling; he’s cajoled me when I’ve needed motivation,” praised one of Erik Lin-Greenberg’s nominators. “He’s guided me through the paper publication process and lifted me up as a coauthor.” Lin-Greenberg is the Leo Marx Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. His research examines how […]
Tracy Slatyer
“While professors at MIT are known for being world-class researchers, and many are stellar lecturers, mentors, or great contributors to their community, I can’t say I know many who are all of the above,” begins a nomination letter. “However, Tracy Slatyer is one such professor, and that is why we are nominating them for this […]
“Rollerama” roller rink opens in Kendall Square
The former U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Volpe Center site — now named “Kendall Common” in anticipation of its transformation into a vibrant mixed-use development — is now activated and open to all this summer. “Rollerama at Kendall Common” offers free roller-skating and roller skate rentals, community programming, and family-friendly events through September. “We are extremely excited […]
Have something to say or share? Then blog about it!
Hi MIT Grads! The MIT Graduate Admissions Blog is excited to announce its upcoming August workshop on blog writing. In brief, Attend a 2-day blogging workshop: August 20th and 22nd, 11am-1pm. Write one blog submission Earn $100 upon completion of post Continue writing for the blog and earn $100 per piece Your work will be eligible […]
From group stretches to “Hitting Roman,” MIT Motorsports traditions live on
While siblings Kevin Chan ’17 and rising senior Monica Chan may be seven years apart in age, as Monica Chan puts it, “we’re eight grades apart, so, like, eight life-years apart.” Despite this age gap — Kevin left for college when Monica was in fifth grade — the siblings share remarkably similar experiences and interests. Both led subteams […]
Two MIT films nominated for New England Emmy Awards
Two films produced by MIT were honored with Emmy nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Boston/New England Chapter. Both “We Are the Forest” and “No Drop to Spare” illustrate international conversations the MIT community is having about the environment and climate change. “We Are the Forest,” produced by MIT Video Productions (MVP) […]
“UnrulyArt” creates joy and engagement, regardless of ability
An unmistakable takeaway from sessions of “UnrulyArt” is that all those “-n’ts” — can’t, needn’t, shouldn’t, won’t — which can lead people to exclude children with disabilities or cognitive, social, and behavioral impairments from creative activities, aren’t really rules. They are merely assumptions and stigmas. When a session ends and the paint that was once […]
Go before you’re ready
I like being prepared. It gives me a sense of control which is my shield against anxiety. The first time I visited New York, I read a guide on using the subway system. Before attending a beginner bachata workshop, I watched a tutorial. I believed that with research and practice, I could conquer any challenge. […]
Designing for outer space
A new MIT course this spring asked students to design what humans might need to comfortably work in and inhabit space. The time for these creations is now. While the NASA Apollo missions saw astronauts land on the moon, collect samples, and return home, the missions planned under Artemis, NASA’s current moon exploration program, include […]
Toward socially and environmentally responsible real estate
The MIT student of popular imagination is a Tony Stark or a Riri Williams working in a lab and building the technology of the future. Not necessarily someone studying real estate. Peggy Ghasemlou is doing just that, however, and she’s traveled over thousands of miles and jumped through about as many hoops to do it. A licensed architect in her hometown of Tehran, Iran’s capital, Ghasemlou enrolled at MIT to […]
Interviewing for grad school is a two-way street
One of the most intimidating parts of the PhD application process is choosing a research group to join. It’s a daunting commitment–this group will be your home of sorts for the next five or more years. It’s important to think about this choice as finding a good match, rather than picking the name you think […]
