Obituary for Getfit
I remember the first time I walked into the MIT Zesiger Center (Z-center for short) to try to fit a workout in the last hot days of September. I saw varsity athletes and crop tops abound, grunting around weights or running fast speeds on the treadmill. Meanwhile, I had never run a mile in one […]
MIT tool visualizes and edits “physically impossible” objects
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 […]
Graduate Admissions privacy statement
Introduction The mission of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century. To help recruit, evaluate, admit, and enroll such qualified candidates, it is necessary to collect and process certain […]
Youssef Marzouk appointed associate dean of MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
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
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 […]
All by myself
My complete home (containing my sofa, kitchen, and bed) is very compact—370 square feet, to be exact. I live in a studio apartment, where I am the sole occupant of an elongated room containing my full living space. I really like having my own place to return to at the end of the day, but […]
MIT Learn offers “a whole new front door to the Institute”
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
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 […]
Centering Myself by Looking Up
Having just started a graduate program in a new city, one of the questions I’ve been asked most over the last few months is “Where are you from?” I usually take a quick beat, chuckle, exhale, and then say “Well … it’s complicated, but I was born in and grew up in New York, and […]
Professor Emeritus Daniel Kleppner, highly influential atomic physicist, dies at 92
Daniel Kleppner, the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT whose work in experimental atomic physics made an immense mark on the field, died on June 16 at the age of 92, in Palo Alto, California. Kleppner’s varied research examined the interactions of atoms with static electric and magnetic fields and radiation. His work included creating […]
Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2025
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected 120 members and 30 international members, including five MIT faculty members and 13 MIT alumni. Professors Rodney Brooks, Parag Pathak, Scott Sheffield, Benjamin Weiss, and Yukiko Yamashita were elected in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Membership to the National Academy of Sciences […]
Wanda Orlikowski
Generating ideas that impact the world positively is of course important, but Wanda Orlikowski goes above and beyond, caring strongly about the people in her orbit who do that work. Orlikowski is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Information Technology and Organization Studies at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Her research examines technologies in the […]
Zachary Seth Hartwig
“Zach is a human being before a scientist. And boy he is an amazing engineer!”, one of his nominators exclaimed. Zachary Seth Hartwig is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) with a co-appointment at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). He has worked in the areas of […]
Supporting mission-driven space innovation, for Earth and beyond
As spaceflight becomes more affordable and accessible, the story of human life in space is just beginning. Aurelia Institute wants to make sure that future benefits all of humanity — whether in space or here on Earth. Founded by Ariel Ekblaw SM ’17, PhD ’20; Danielle DeLatte ’11; and former MIT research scientist Sana Sharma, […]
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT)
TOEFL iBT Instructions Applicants may submit TOEFL iBT scores to fulfill the English language proficiency test requirement in their application(s). The TOEFL iBT exam fee is charged in local currency and varies by country. To register for the TOEFL, please visit www.ets.org. Score Reporting Send your TOEFL iBT scores to MIT GradAdmissions using institutional code […]
AI shapes autonomous underwater “gliders”
Marine scientists have long marveled at how animals like fish and seals swim so efficiently despite having different shapes. Their bodies are optimized for efficient, hydrodynamic aquatic navigation so they can exert minimal energy when traveling long distances. Autonomous vehicles can drift through the ocean in a similar way, collecting data about vast underwater environments. […]
At MIT, musicians make new tools for new tunes
The MIT Music Technology Program carves out a space to explore new sounds, tunes, and experiences. From the classroom to the community, students in music tech grapple with developing both creative technology and their creative selves. In the course 21M.080 (Intro to Music Technology), it dawned on Thelonious Cooper ’25 that he had the skills […]
A new platform for developing advanced metals at scale
Companies building next-generation products and breakthrough technologies are often limited by the physical constraints of traditional materials. In aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial tooling, pushing those constraints introduces possible failure points into the system, but companies don’t have better options, given that producing new materials at scale involves multiyear timelines and huge expenses. Foundation Alloy wants […]
3 Questions: How MIT’s venture studio is partnering with MIT labs to solve “holy grail” problems
MIT Proto Ventures is the Institute’s in-house venture studio — a program designed not to support existing startups, but to create entirely new ones from the ground up. Operating at the intersection of breakthrough research and urgent real-world problems, Proto Ventures proactively builds startups that leverage MIT technologies, talent, and ideas to address high-impact industry […]
Rebecca Drake
Monday: On Site 7:00 am – 3:00 pm Tuesday: Remote 9:00 am – 5:00 pmWednesday: On Site 7:00 am – 3:00 pm Thursday: On Site 7:00 am – 3:00 pm Friday: Remote 9:00 am – 5:00 pm I can help graduate students, faculty, and department leadership with questions or concerns regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement […]
Backup child care info session
From 1-1:30pm, Bright Horizons is hosting a virtual information session for MIT students about the backup child care benefit. The session will be recorded, so if you can’t make it you can watch the recording later — just make sure to register so that you will have access to it.
Observations from the 2024 Geophysical Plasma Expedition
We stand spread across a frozen hilltop, gazing North at a pale green band low above the horizon. The landscape around us is blanketed in unbroken snow, appearing almost extraterrestrial in the flat light of the waxing crescent moon. We fidget to stay warm and murmur to one another about the slight undulations of the […]
The high-tech wizardry of integrated photonics
Inspired by the “Harry Potter” stories and the Disney Channel show “Wizards of Waverly Place,” 7-year-old Sabrina Corsetti emphatically declared to her parents one afternoon that she was, in fact, a wizard. “My dad turned to me and said that, if I really wanted to be a wizard, then I should become a physicist. Physicists […]
Inspiring student growth
Professors Xiao Wang and Rodrigo Verdi, both members of the 2023-25 Committed to Caring cohort, are aiding in the development of extraordinary researchers and contributing to a collaborative culture. “Professor Xiao Wang’s caring efforts have a profound impact on the lives of her students,” one of her advisees commended. “Rodrigo’s dedication to mentoring and his […]
QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2025-26
MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 14th year in a row MIT has received this distinction. The full 2026 edition of the rankings — published by Quacquarelli Symonds, an organization specializing in education and study abroad — can be […]
Ten Stitches Up, Nine Down
We all know the trope: pick up a hobby, splurge on supplies, try it once, and never touch it again. I took it a step further—starting a scarf in 2019 and heroically refusing to finish it for years. What began as a quick winter project quietly turned into a long-running companion to my time at […]
Combining technology, education, and human connection to improve online learning
MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) Fellow Caitlin Morris is an architect, artist, researcher, and educator who has studied psychology and used online learning tools to teach herself coding and other skills. She’s a soft-spoken observer, with a keen interest in how people use space and respond to their environments. Combining her observational skills with active community engagement, […]
Students and staff work together for MIT’s first “No Mow May”
In recent years, some grass lawns around the country have grown a little taller in springtime thanks to No Mow May, a movement originally launched by U.K. nonprofit Plantlife in 2019 designed to raise awareness about the ecological impacts of the traditional, resource-intensive, manicured grass lawn. No Mow May encourages people to skip spring mowing […]
Professor Emeritus Hank Smith honored for pioneering work in nanofabrication
Nanostructures are a stunning array of intricate patterns that are imperceptible to the human eye, yet they help power modern life. They are the building blocks of microchip transistors, etched onto grating substrates of space-based X-ray telescopes, and drive innovations in medicine, sustainability, and quantum computing. Since the 1970s, Henry “Hank” Smith, MIT professor emeritus […]
Anantha Chandrakasan named MIT provost
Anantha Chandrakasan, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science who has held multiple leadership roles at MIT, has been named the Institute’s new provost, effective July 1. Chandrakasan has served as the dean of the School of Engineering since 2017 and as MIT’s inaugural chief innovation and strategy officer since 2024. Prior to becoming […]
The shadow architects of power
In Washington, where conversations about Russia often center on a single name, political science doctoral candidate Suzanne Freeman is busy redrawing the map of power in autocratic states. Her research upends prevailing narratives about Vladimir Putin’s Russia, asking us to look beyond the individual to understand the system that produced him. “The standard view is […]
Have a damaged painting? Restore it in just hours with an AI-generated “mask”
Art restoration takes steady hands and a discerning eye. For centuries, conservators have restored paintings by identifying areas needing repair, then mixing an exact shade to fill in one area at a time. Often, a painting can have thousands of tiny regions requiring individual attention. Restoring a single painting can take anywhere from a few […]
Recovering from the past and transitioning to a better energy future
As the frequency and severity of extreme weather events grow, it may become increasingly necessary to employ a bolder approach to climate change, warned Emily A. Carter, the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. Carter made her case for why the energy transition is no longer enough in the […]
“Each of us holds a piece of the solution”
MIT has an unparalleled history of bringing together interdisciplinary teams to solve pressing problems — think of the development of radar during World War II, or leading the international coalition that cracked the code of the human genome — but the challenge of climate change could demand a scale of collaboration unlike any that’s come […]
Envisioning a future where health care tech leaves some behind
Will the perfect storm of potentially life-changing, artificial intelligence-driven health care and the desire to increase profits through subscription models alienate vulnerable patients? For the third year in a row, MIT’s Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize asked students to describe, in 3,000 words or fewer, how advancements in computing could shape human society for the better […]
