Six with ties to MIT honored as 2022 ACM Fellows
On Jan. 18, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) announced its 2022 fellows, those it recognizes “for significant contributions in areas including cybersecurity, human-computer interaction, mobile computing, and recommender systems among many other areas.” Included in the crop of new fellows were six distinguished scientists with ties to MIT. Constantinos Daskalakis, the Armen Avanessians (1982) […]
Blue-sky thinking and the next 150-year chair
A major aspect of sustainability — a core component in many MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) courses — is considering the future effect of any given business practice or product. Sustainability was top-of-mind for Skylar Tibbits, associate professor of design research and director of MIT’s design major and minor programs, and Jeremy Carmine […]
Making computer science research more accessible in India
Imagine that you are teaching a technical subject to children in a small village. They are eager to learn, but you face a problem: There are few resources to educate them in their mother tongue. This is a common experience in India, where the quality of textbooks written in many local languages pales in comparison […]
Startups led by MIT mechanical engineers offer health care solutions
Health care has always been ripe for innovation. Whether it’s increasing safety in operating rooms, developing systems to reduce patient wait times, or improving drug delivery, there are endless opportunities to improve the efficacy and efficiency of health care. The Covid-19 pandemic made the need for these solutions all the more pressing. “There were a […]
MIT is the Hollywood of academia
I always dreamed of doing great things and having a positive impact on the world. In my naivety, I believed that only celebrities have this kind of world-reaching influence. With this dream at the forefront of my mind, in 2018-2019, I pursued a career in acting and screenwriting, motivated by a desire to become a […]
Remembering Mary Morrissey, whose service to MIT spanned 45 years
Mary Louise Morrissey, whose career at MIT spanned 45 years, including her service as director of the Information and Special Events Center, passed away peacefully on Jan. 17 at the age of 95. Morrissey joined the MIT community in 1950, working in the Registrar’s Office. At the time, all student transcripts were handwritten in India […]
Matthew Notowidigdo appointed co-scientific director of J-PAL North America
J-PAL North America has announced that Matthew “Matt” Notowidigdo ’03, MEng ’04, PhD ’10, professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, is joining Amy Finkelstein as co-scientific director of the organization, replacing Lawrence “Larry” Katz. Katz is stepping down after nearly 10 years of supporting the growth and development of […]
Sensing with purpose
Fadel Adib never expected that science would get him into the White House, but in August 2015 the MIT graduate student found himself demonstrating his research to the president of the United States. Adib, fellow grad student Zachary Kabelac, and their advisor, Dina Katabi, showcased a wireless device that uses Wi-Fi signals to track an […]
Leslie Regan: A legacy of care and compassion for generations of graduate alumni
If you mention Leslie Regan’s name to any alum of MIT’s mechanical engineering graduate program, their face will break into a smile. For nearly five decades, Regan’s kind, caring presence was a mainstay for thousands of mechanical engineering students. Now, after 47 years, Regan can reflect back on an impactful journey as she begins her […]
MIT welcomes 2022 Presidential Fellows cohort
MIT welcomed 137 Presidential Fellows this year, spanning 24 departments across MIT. In this cohort, EECS was most represented with 29 Fellows, closely followed by Biological Engineering with 10 Fellows and Mathematics with 9. On November 10, the Fellows were celebrated at the annual Presidential Fellows Reception, hosted by Ian Waitz, where they were recognized […]
Angelika Amon
The late MIT Professor Angelika Amon, renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of how chromosomes are regulated and partitioned during cell division, was also beloved among the MIT community for her kind and supportive mentorship of students. An engaged and valued member of the MIT community, Amon passed away in late 2020 after […]
A global lab for teaching and practicing synthetic biology
How do you keep a hands-on synthetic biology lab class going during a pandemic? As a unique team of MIT and Harvard Medical School faculty, teaching assistants, and students describe in a new paper in Nature Biotechnology, the answer involves robots and teaching assistants working together in the lab, a new way of designing experiments, […]
Preparing to be prepared
The Kobe earthquake of 1995 devastated one of Japan’s major cities, leaving over 6,000 people dead while destroying or making unusable hundreds of thousands of structures. It toppled elevated freeway segments, wrecked mass transit systems, and damaged the city’s port capacity. “It was a shock to a highly engineered, urban city to have undergone that […]
Karenna Groff ’22 Named NCAA Woman of the Year
MIT graduate student Karenna Groff ’22 of Weston, Massachusetts, a member of the MIT women’s soccer team, was named the NCAA 2022 Woman of the Year at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The most prestigious honor awarded annually by the NCAA to a female student-athlete, Groff is the second MIT student-athlete to win the […]
Compassion in the details
The late MIT Professor Angelika Amon, renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of how chromosomes are regulated and partitioned during cell division, was also beloved among the MIT community for her kind and supportive mentorship of students. An engaged and valued member of the MIT community, Amon passed away in late 2020 after […]
Learning from the magic bean
It all started when COVID hit. I had all this newfound time while attending classes on Zoom and found an outlet – specialty coffee. Before I knew it, I had become a full-blown coffee aficionado who knew all about the full coffee production process and cared about flavors in coffee. I found that the best […]
3 Questions: What to expect from respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19, this winter
Levels of respiratory illness are rising in the Boston area and elsewhere. Here, MIT Medical Director Cecilia Stuopis provides recommendations for keeping yourself and others healthy during the winter months. Q: Rates of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses are back on the rise. Should I be concerned? A: While everyone should take additional precautions, people […]
2022-23 Takeda Fellows: Leveraging AI to positively impact human health
The MIT-Takeda Program, a collaboration between MIT’s School of Engineering and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company, fuels the development and application of artificial intelligence capabilities to benefit human health and drug development. Part of the Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health, the program coalesces disparate disciplines, merges theory and practical implementation, combines algorithm and […]
Program teaches US Air Force personnel the fundamentals of AI
A new academic program developed at MIT aims to teach U.S. Air and Space Forces personnel to understand and utilize artificial intelligence technologies. In a recent peer-reviewed study, the program researchers found that this approach was effective and well-received by employees with diverse backgrounds and professional roles. The project, which was funded by the Department […]
Sarah Galison
Monday: RemoteTuesday: 3-136Wednesday: 3-136Thursday: RemoteFriday: Remote I can help you access resources and answer your student-parent related questions. I love trying new plant based restaurants in the Cambridge/Boston area. Let me know if you would like a recommendation!
How NOT to be a good TA
It was my first ever trip to Cambridge and to the MIT campus and, more importantly, the start of my graduate program in the chemistry department. My fall semester schedule was a balance of courses, lab rotations and my teaching assignment. Needless to say, it was a lot to juggle. I felt confident that the […]
MIT community in 2022: A year in review
In 2022, MIT returned to a bit of normalcy after the challenge of Covid-19 began to subside. The Institute prepared to bid farewell to its president and later announced his successor; announced five flagship projects in a new competition aimed at tackling climate’s greatest challenges; made new commitments toward ensuring support for diverse voices; and […]
Writer’s block? Experiencing isolation as a researcher or writer? WTO has got you covered!
In 2019, I was in my second year of PhD when my PhD advisor told me that we had all the results we needed to write up a journal article related to my very first research project. After our meeting that day, I was so excited for two reasons: first, because this was my first […]
Manufacturing a cleaner future
Manufacturing had a big summer. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August, represents a massive investment in U.S. domestic manufacturing. The act aims to drastically expand the U.S. semiconductor industry, strengthen supply chains, and invest in R&D for new technological breakthroughs. According to John Hart, professor of mechanical engineering and director of […]
White House names Daniel Hastings to space advisory group
United States Vice President Kamala Harris, the chair of the National Space Council (NSpC), has named MIT Professor Daniel Hastings to serve on the NSpC Users Advisory Group (UAG). Hastings, who is the associate dean of engineering for diversity, equity, and inclusion; head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and the Cecil and Ida […]
Reimagining a curriculum for tomorrow’s engineers at the University of the Andes
Nestled in the foothills of Bogotá, the University of the Andes (Uniandes) draws students across Colombia who are looking to study engineering. Today, those graduates are better equipped than ever, thanks to a comprehensive redesign of the university’s undergraduate engineering curriculum, inspired in part by its relationship with MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab […]
MIT community members win 2023 IEEE medals and awards
The IEEE recently announced the annual winners of their 2023 prestigious medals and technical awards, and a number of MIT faculty and alumni have been honored. Rodney Brooks, Panasonic Professor of Robotics Emeritus of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was awarded the IEEE Founders Medal “for leadership in research and commercialization of […]
Online Info Session: System Design and Management
Join the department of System Design and Management (SDM) on Thursday, January 19, 2023 to learn about our master’s degree in engineering and management! Program staff, including SDM Executive Director Joan Rubin, will explain the application process and go over our curriculum that offers courses in MIT’s School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management. We’ll also […]
Exploring morality at MIT
Eliza Wells wrestles with deep ethical questions that have implications well beyond her field. A fourth year student in MIT’s philosophy PhD program, Wells studies morality and facilitates discussions at the Institute about ethics and technology. “I believe that philosophy can change lives. I want to help people interrogate their values so that they can […]
Professor Emeritus Robert Balluffi, multifaceted materials scientist, dies at 98
Robert W. Balluffi, professor emeritus in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), died Dec. 8 at his home in Ithaca, New York. He was 98 years old. Described by colleagues as the last of an era of materials scientists with a holistic understanding of the field, Balluffi was renowned for both his […]
MIT’s Science Policy Initiative holds 12th annual Executive Visit Days
On Oct. 16 and 17, 14 MIT graduate students and one postdoc, joined by five students from the University of the District of Columbia, traveled to Washington to speak to representatives from several federal executive agencies. The trip served as an opportunity for participants to discuss issues related to science and technology policy and the […]
Practicing imperfection
A screenshot of the author’s faulty Java code from one of her first attempts at coding When I TA’d for a quantitative methods class in college, I always kept this image of one of my first attempts at coding handy to show to struggling students. Besides providing some light comedic relief during stressful office hours, […]
School of Engineering unveils MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence
In July 2022, the MIT School of Engineering welcomed its first class of scholars selected for the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence. The idea for the fellowship grew from conversations taking place within the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee — established in 2020 — that identified a need to diversify the pool […]
Kevin O’Brien
Monday: 3-107Tuesday: RemoteWednesday: 3-107Thursday: 3-107Friday: Remote I can help you with fellowship funding, financial assistance and grants, RA & TA appointments, and financial wellbeing. A fun fact about me: Have never met him, but my family is related to Conan O’Brien
Meet the 2022-23 Accenture Fellows
Launched in October 2020, the MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative for Industry and Technology underscores the ways in which industry and technology can collaborate to spur innovation. The five-year initiative aims to achieve its mission through research, education, and fellowships. To that end, Accenture has once again awarded five annual fellowships to MIT graduate students […]
Scene at MIT: The community gathers for Winterfest
As the sun faded on a clear Thursday afternoon, the MIT community came together to enjoy excellent food, music, and company at the annual Winterfest celebration. Each year Winterfest kicks off the holiday season and all that comes with it for MIT’s community members, from final exams to a much-deserved year-end break to Independent Activities […]
