Why Boston is the Best and Worst City for Running
Let me paint a picture for you: it’s 7:30 am on a Saturday in September of 2024, and I’m in a sedan driving down Memorial Ave on my way to move into my new dorm. My boyfriend is driving while I look out the window at the city I will call home for the next […]
QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 11 subjects for 2025
QS World University Rankings has placed MIT in the No. 1 spot in 11 subject areas for 2025, the organization announced today. The Institute received a No. 1 ranking in the following QS subject areas: Chemical Engineering; Civil and Structural Engineering; Computer Science and Information Systems; Data Science and Artificial Intelligence; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; […]
Building trust in science through conversation and empathy
How do we foster trust in science in an increasingly polarized world? A group including scientists, journalists, policymakers and more gathered at MIT on March 10 to discuss how to bridge the gap between scientific expertise and understanding. The conference, titled “Building Trust in Science for a More Informed Future,” was organized by the MIT […]
Join the Grad Blog editorial team!
Dear MIT grad students, We’re excited to announce that the MIT Grad Blog is searching for several new editors! As you all know, the Grad Blog serves as an avenue for MIT students to share their experiences with peers and prospective students. As an editor, you would help bloggers like you hone their story into […]
3 Questions: Visualizing research in the age of AI
For over 30 years, science photographer Felice Frankel has helped MIT professors, researchers, and students communicate their work visually. Throughout that time, she has seen the development of various tools to support the creation of compelling images: some helpful, and some antithetical to the effort of producing a trustworthy and complete representation of the research. […]
Loud Steps and Strong-Smelling Cuisine: The Terror of Being Different
#TheBeginning It was a typical morning when I woke up at my usual time, ready to get some studying done before heading to the lab. Around 5 A.M., a noise from the kitchen drew my attention. Something was different. The sound of a pan sizzling, the smell of fried eggs in melted butter, and the […]
Why rationality can push people in different directions
It’s not a stretch to suggest that when we disagree with other people, we often regard them as being irrational. Kevin Dorst PhD ’19 has developed a body of research with surprising things to say about that. Dorst, an associate professor of philosophy at MIT, studies rationality: how we apply it, or think we do, […]
Developing materials for stellar performance in fusion power plants
When Zoe Fisher was in fourth grade, her art teacher asked her to draw her vision of a dream job on paper. At the time, those goals changed like the flavor of the week in an ice cream shop — “zookeeper” featured prominently for a while — but Zoe immediately knew what she wanted to […]
Letterlocking: A new look at a centuries-old practice
For as long as people have been communicating through writing, they have found ways to keep their messages private. Before the invention of the gummed envelope in 1830, securing correspondence involved letterlocking, an ingenious process of folding a flat sheet of paper to become its own envelope, often using a combination of folds, tucks, slits, […]
Times Higher Education ranks MIT No. 1 in arts and humanities, business and economics, and social sciences
The 2025 Times Higher Education World University Ranking has ranked MIT first in three subject categories: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, and Social Sciences. The Times Higher Education World University Ranking is an annual publication of university rankings by Times Higher Education, a leading British education magazine. The subject rankings are based on 18 rigorous performance […]
A personalized heart implant wins MIT Sloan health care prize
An MIT startup’s personalized heart implants, designed to help prevent strokes, won this year’s MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize (SHIP) on Thursday. Spheric Bio’s implants grow inside the body once injected, to fit within the patient’s unique anatomy. This could improve stroke prevention because existing implants are one-size-fits-all devices that can fail to fully block […]
Grad Student Experience Grants: April Deadline
Do you have an idea to improve the graduate student experience or build community? Develop a proposal and request funding from the Graduate Student Experience Grants!
Hamsa Balakrishnan
Balakrishnan is the William E. Leonhard Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. She leads the Dynamics, Infrastructure Networks, and Mobility (DINaMo) Research Group. Her current research interests are in the design, analysis, and implementation of control and optimization algorithms for large-scale cyber-physical infrastructures, with an emphasis on air transportation systems. Unequivocal advocacy Many nominators […]
Emery Neal Brown
Brown is the Edward Hood Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at MIT and a practicing anaesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Brown’s experimental research has made important contributions towards understanding the neuroscience of how anesthetics act in the brain to create the states of general anesthesia. Holistic Mentorship One of the biggest challenges in […]
Graduate Fellowships — General Overview Webinar 3
Why are fellowships great? What is the application process? What are the types of resources available?
Rohit Karnik named director of J-WAFS
Rohit Karnik, the Tata Professor in the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering and Committed to Caring faculty member, has been named the new director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), effective March 1. Karnik, who has served as associate director of J-WAFS since 2023, succeeds founding director John H. Lienhard […]
Zoë Wright
Monday: RemoteTuesday: 3-136Wednesday: 3-136Thursday: 3-136Friday: Remote I can help you with website updates, copyediting, and the Committed to Caring program. A fun fact about me: I love doing headstands.
Science at Sea
This October, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. I was enrolled in Elements of Modern Oceanography, a course taught by scientists in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, and my professor was the chief scientist on an upcoming research cruise. She mentioned that there were a few extra spots and I jumped at the opportunity. […]
Rebuilding Ukraine
Nearly three years after Russian military forces invaded Ukraine, escalating a decade-long conflict, Ukrainian cities lie in ruin as the war drags on. The seaside city of Mariupol was particularly hard hit. Bombs hollowed out hospitals and homes and leveled banks and playgrounds. Schools sit charred and empty. The remaining 30 percent of the population still […]
Fiber computer allows apparel to run apps and “understand” the wearer
What if the clothes you wear could care for your health? MIT researchers have developed an autonomous programmable computer in the form of an elastic fiber, which could monitor health conditions and physical activity, alerting the wearer to potential health risks in real-time. Clothing containing the fiber computer was comfortable and machine washable, and the […]
MIT engineers prepare to send three payloads to the moon
Three MIT payloads will soon hitch a ride to the moon in a step toward establishing a permanent base on the lunar surface. In the coming days, weather permitting, MIT engineers and scientists will send three payloads into space, on a course set for the moon’s south polar region. Scientists believe this area, with its […]
An “All-American” vision of service to others
Spencer Paysinger has already been many things in his life, including a Super Bowl-winning linebacker, a writer and producer of the hit television series “All-American,” and local-business entrepreneur. But as he explained during his keynote speech at MIT’s 51st annual event celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Paysinger would prefer to […]
Two from MIT named 2025 Gates Cambridge Scholars
MIT senior Markey Freudenburg-Puricelli and recent alumna Abigail (“Abbie”) Schipper ’24 have been selected as Gates Cambridge Scholars and will begin graduate studies this fall in the field of their choice at Cambridge University in the U.K. Now celebrating its 25th year, the Gates Cambridge program provides fully funded post-graduate scholarships to outstanding applicants from […]
Three from MIT named 2025 Gates Cambridge Scholars
MIT senior Markey Freudenburg-Puricelli and alumnae Abigail (“Abbie”) Schipper ’24 and Rachel Zhang ’21 have been selected as Gates Cambridge Scholars and will begin graduate studies this fall in the field of their choice at Cambridge University in the U.K. Now celebrating its 25th year, the Gates Cambridge program provides fully funded post-graduate scholarships to […]
MIT faculty, alumni named 2025 Sloan Research Fellows
Seven MIT faculty and 21 additional MIT alumni are among 126 early-career researchers honored with 2025 Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The recipients represent the MIT departments of Biology; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Economics; Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Mathematics; and Physics as well as the Music and […]
My best and worst 5 books of 2024
DISCLAIMER: this blog post has what might be considered some HOT takes and some books you’ve probably never heard of. Welcome to my inner book thoughts of 2024. I loved reading as a kid but my attention span wasn’t always that great. For example, I’ve still never made it all the way through the Harry […]
Cynthia Barnhart to step down as provost
Cynthia Barnhart SM ’86, PhD ’88 will step down as MIT’s provost, effective July 1, President Sally Kornbluth announced today. Barnhart, who served as MIT’s chancellor for more than seven years before becoming provost in 2022, will return to the faculty following a sabbatical. Barnhart led a variety of efforts to enhance academics and research […]
MIT spinout maps the body’s metabolites to uncover the hidden drivers of disease
Biology is never simple. As researchers make strides in reading and editing genes to treat disease, for instance, a growing body of evidence suggests that the proteins and metabolites surrounding those genes can’t be ignored. The MIT spinout ReviveMed has created a platform for measuring metabolites — products of metabolism like lipids, cholesterol, sugar, and […]
MIT community members elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2025
Eight MIT researchers are among the 128 new members and 22 international members recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for 2025. Thirteen additional MIT alumni were also elected as new members. One of the highest professional distinctions for engineers, membership in the NAE is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering […]
Reducing carbon emissions from residential heating: A pathway forward
In the race to reduce climate-warming carbon emissions, the buildings sector is falling behind. While carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S. electric power sector dropped by 34 percent between 2005 and 2021, emissions in the building sector declined by only 18 percent in that same time period. Moreover, in extremely cold locations, burning natural […]
Mixing beats, history, and technology
In a classroom on the third floor of the MIT Media Lab, it’s quiet; the disc jockey is setting up. At the end of a conference table ringed with chairs, there are two turntables on either side of a mixer and a worn crossfader. A MacBook sits to the right of the setup. Today’s class […]
Finding connection through the “Wednesday Waffle”
When I first came to MIT, I was confident that I’d had a decent plan for building a meaningful social life for myself at MIT and in Cambridge/Boston more broadly. Student groups, hobby groups, one-off events, and department outings were all readily available. Even without stepping out of the MIT bubble, there were so many […]
Cultivators of research
“Intelligent, caring, inspiring, and full-of-wisdom,” one student described Kenneth Oye. Another lauded that “We are beyond lucky to have such a caring, supportive, empathetic and compassionate leader” in Maria Yang. Professors Maria Yang and Kenneth Oye are two of the 2023-25 Committed to Caring cohort, acknowledged for encouraging their students; advocating for meaningful, interesting research; […]
2025 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM
The conference is hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity (ISEED) Programs and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) within the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU). The conference is aimed at college and university undergraduate and graduate students who participate in programs funded […]
2025 National Society of Black Engineers’ 50th Annual Convention
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States. NSBE, founded in 1975, supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology.
Gift from Sebastian Man ’79, SM ’80 supports MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing building
The MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing has received substantial support for its striking new headquarters on Vassar Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A major gift from Sebastian Man ’79, SM ’80 will be recognized with the naming of a key space in the building, enriching the academic and research activities of the MIT Schwarzman […]
