The buzz on keeping bees
Are you wary of bee stings? Maybe you are one of about 7.5 percent of Americans who, according to BeeAware, are severely allergic to insect venom? Even if you are bee-averse, it is important to remember that bees play a vital role in pollinating approximately one-third of our food supply. This includes more than 130 […]
Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, influential researcher in human hearing science, dies at 93
Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, an internationally recognized scientist known for his influential research into speech and hearing, as well as his dedication to enhancing academic exchange between Chinese and American scientists, died March 19 at his home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. He was 93. Kiang was a principal research scientist in the Research […]
Pushing product development into the future
Every built system has an architecture; whether we’re talking about mobile payments, power grids, commercial aircraft, or electric vehicles. Thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of decisions are made to design a product. The field of system architecture works from the belief that there is a foundational subset of decisions that are more impactful than others. […]
Blanche Staton: A transformational leader at MIT
Over 25 years at MIT’s Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (OGE), Blanche Staton has advised graduate students, faculty, and administrators; served on numerous Institute committees; provided support to countless graduate students; and created and sponsored programs designed to enhance graduate student life and prepare future alumni for leadership in their careers. Now, the […]
An interdisciplinary approach to fighting climate change through clean energy solutions
In early 2021, the U.S. government set an ambitious goal: to decarbonize its power grid, the system that generates and transmits electricity throughout the country, by 2035. It’s an important goal in the fight against climate change, and will require a switch from current, greenhouse-gas producing energy sources (such as coal and natural gas), to […]
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) at MIT
Kevin O’Brien, Director of Graduate Fellowships, will host a presentation providing an overview of the NSF GRFP at MIT. This presentation is great for recently awarded students, current NSF fellow students, prospective NSF fellow students, and MIT community members looking to become familiar with the program. Sign up here!
Budgeting 101: Personal Budgeting for Graduate Students
With summer right around the corner, there may be a lot of fun events coming up with families and friends that can lead to more spending. It is important to not lose track of your finances and maintain your budget! So before heading into a summer of good times, be sure to sign up for our Budgeting 101 presentation.
José Maria Neves, president of Cape Verde, tours MIT
President José Maria Neves of Cape Verde visited MIT on Tuesday, meeting with Associate Provost Richard Lester and other members of the campus community, and conducting a public event about e-governance in Africa that highlighted the ways technology has helped his country. “Technology and information are a mechanism or means to establish links between [our] […]
Remembering Mel King, adjunct professor emeritus in urban studies and planning
Mel King, an adjunct professor emeritus in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) and renowned activist, community leader, and politician, passed away on March 28 at the age of 94. Through his teaching, ideas, and the institutions he created at MIT, King profoundly influenced DUSP and its community members, who showcase the love […]
MIT welcomes 2023 Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow Juliana García-Mejía
MIT’s School of Science welcomes Juliana García-Mejía, one of eight recipients of the 2023 51 Pegasi b Fellowship. The announcement was made March 30 by the Heising-Simons Foundation. The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship provides postdocs with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy. García-Mejía, who expects to complete her doctorate […]
Greening roofs to boost climate resilience
When the historic cities of Europe were built hundreds of years ago, there were open green spaces all around them. But today’s city centers can be a 30-minute drive or more to the vast open greenery that earlier Europeans took for granted. That’s what the startup Roofscapes is trying to change. The company, founded by […]
Clothing brand helps give survivors of sexual violence a path forward
When Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, Milain Fayulu SM ’22 was filled with pride in his home country. He eagerly set an alarm from Miami to wake up in the early hours and watch Mukwege’s speech in Norway. In the speech, Mukwege discussed his experience caring […]
Samantha Stettner
Monday: 3-107 Tuesday: RemoteWednesday: 3-107Thursday: RemoteFriday: Remote I can help you with fellowship funding and process. A fun fact about me is that I love weird funny facts!
A portfolio that’s out of this world
At age 9, Ezinne Uzo-Okoro SM ’20, PhD ’22 was preoccupied with down-to-earth problems, such as devising an alternative to her father’s messy, paper Filofax organizer, and fixing the unreliable electric service plaguing her home of Owerri, Nigeria. Could she have imagined a path-breaking, 17-year career at NASA, followed by a position as the nation’s […]
Festival of Learning 2023 underscores importance of well-designed learning environments
During its first in-person gathering since 2020, MIT’s Festival of Learning 2023 explored how the learning sciences can inform the Institute on how to best support students. Co-sponsored by MIT Open Learning and the Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC), this annual event celebrates teaching and learning innovations with MIT instructors, students, and staff. Bror […]
Planet hunting and the origins of life
George Ricker built his first telescope when he was in third grade. Growing up in rural Florida, with its abundance of dark night skies, facilitated his natural propensity for stargazing. But it was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during his undergraduate days at the Institute that his fascination became a calling. “I was a physics major at […]
Tom Wolf PhD ’81: Government is a common endeavor from which all can benefit
Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf PhD ’81 made a forthright call for integrity and the expression of a common purpose in politics, while accepting the Institute’s 2023 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) on March 21. Government, Wolf suggested in his acceptance lecture, is a form […]
A design tool to democratize the art of color-changing mosaics
A colorful new design tool developed by MIT researchers allows individuals to create polarized light mosaics that can be printed on cellophane to make data visualizations, passive light displays, mechanical animations, fashion accessories, educational science and design tools, and more. Ticha Melody Sethapakdi, a PhD student in electrical engineering and computer science and affiliate of […]
Giving refugees design education — and newfound hope
They come by foot and by boat. Desperate, many bring nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They seek asylum and hope. Since 2015, more than a million refugees have flooded into Greece. Syrians, Afghanis, Iraqis, and Kurds, they’ve been uprooted from their home countries by violence and oppression. Political gridlock traps them in […]
Bob Metcalfe ’68 wins $1 million Turing Award
Robert “Bob” Metcalfe ’68, an MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) research affiliate and MIT Corporation life member emeritus, has been awarded the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) A.M. Turing Award for his invention of Ethernet. Often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing,” the award comes with a $1 million prize […]
An education in climate change
Several years ago, Christopher Knittel’s father, then a math teacher, shared a mailing he had received at his high school. When he opened the packet, alarm bells went off for Knittel, who is the George P. Shultz Professor of Energy Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the deputy director for policy at […]
QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 11 subjects for 2023
QS World University Rankings has placed MIT in the No. 1 spot in 11 subject areas for 2023, 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; […]
Bob Metcalfe ’69 wins $1 million Turing Award
Robert “Bob” Metcalfe ’69, an MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) research affiliate and MIT Corporation life member emeritus, has been awarded the 2022 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) A.M. Turing Award for his invention of Ethernet. Often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing,” the award comes with a $1 million […]
MIT-led teams win National Science Foundation grants to research sustainable materials
Three MIT-led teams are among 16 nationwide to receive funding awards to address sustainable materials for global challenges through the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator program. Launched in 2019, the program targets solutions to especially compelling societal or scientific challenges at an accelerated pace, by incorporating a multidisciplinary research approach. “Solutions for today’s national-scale societal […]
MIT’s Barry Duncan demonstrates the power of writing in reverse
Words have always played a central role in Barry Duncan’s life. He’s worked in bookstores for more than 40 years, reads often, and has tried his hand at writing novels, children’s books, song lyrics, and plays. But it wasn’t until he stumbled onto the book “An Almanac of Words at Play” that Duncan realized words […]
Detailed images from space offer clearer picture of drought effects on plants
“MIT is a place where dreams come true,” says César Terrer, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Here at MIT, Terrer says he’s given the resources needed to explore ideas he finds most exciting, and at the top of his list is climate science. In particular, he is interested in […]
Designing for better lives
Even though Flavio Emilio Vila Skrzypek left his native country of Peru to study at MIT, you can tell immediately that his homeland is close to his heart. Vila, who is pursuing a master’s in city planning, has made it his mission to improve land-use policy back home. “Property policies in Peru should learn from […]
MIT affiliates honored with 2023 Optica awards and medals
MIT Professor Marin Soljačić and four additional MIT alumni — Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato PhD ’87, Turan Erdogan ’87, Harold Metcalf ’62, and Andrew Weiner ’79, SM ’81, ScD ’84 — are among 17 recipients of the 2023 Optica Awards. Optica, formerly known as OSA, announced the awards, which celebrate those in the optics and photonics field […]
3 Questions: John Dozier on Dialogues Across Difference
MIT’s new series “Dialogues Across Difference” will bring speakers to campus and create opportunities for community members to demonstrate practical ways to take on difficult subjects across differences of opinion, background, viewpoint, and life experience. A collaboration among the offices of the MIT president, provost, and chancellor, the program kicks off March 22 with John […]
Peter Baddoo, Department of Mathematics instructor, dies at 29
Peter Baddoo, an instructor in the Department of Mathematics, passed away suddenly on Feb. 15 while playing basketball on campus. Baddoo joined the MIT Department of Mathematics in January 2021. Prior to this, he was an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow at Imperial College London. He studied mathematics as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford […]
MIT’s sustainable cycle: How to recycle the right way
Have you ever looked down inside the blue recycling bins around campus wondering if what we had thrown away is truly recyclable? From a piece of paper that you scribble over during your quiz to an empty coffee cup someone drank in the morning, can it all truly be recycled? The short answer is no, […]
Tom Wolf PhD ’81 receives the 2023 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award
The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) has announced that former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf PhD ’81 has been recognized with the 2023 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award. The biennial Muh Alumni Award recognizes the tremendous achievements of MIT degree holders who are leaders in one of the Institute’s humanities, arts, or […]
Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots
When astronauts begin to build a permanent base on the moon, as NASA plans to do in the coming years, they’ll need help. Robots could potentially do the heavy lifting by laying cables, deploying solar panels, erecting communications towers, and building habitats. But if each robot is designed for a specific action or task, a […]
It’s a weird, weird quantum world
In 1994, as Professor Peter Shor PhD ’85 tells it, internal seminars at AT&T Bell Labs were lively affairs. The audience of physicists was an active and inquisitive bunch, often pelting speakers with questions throughout their talks. Shor, who worked at Bell Labs at the time, remembers several occasions when a speaker couldn’t get past […]
MIT professor to Congress: “We are at an inflection point” with AI
Government should not “abdicate” its responsibilities and leave the future path of artificial intelligence solely to Big Tech, Aleksander Mądry, the Cadence Design Systems Professor of Computing at MIT and director of the MIT Center for Deployable Machine Learning, told a congressional panel on Wednesday. Rather, Mądry said, government should be asking questions about the […]
2023 MacVicar Faculty Fellows named
The Office of the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar’s Office have announced this year’s Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of brain and cognitive sciences John Gabrieli, associate professor of literature Marah Gubar, professor of biology Adam C. Martin, and associate professor of architecture Lawrence “Larry” Sass. For more than 30 years, the MacVicar Faculty Fellows […]
