John Joannopoulos receives 2024-2025 Killian Award
John Joannopoulos, an innovator and mentor in the fields of theoretical condensed matter physics and nanophotonics, has been named the recipient of the 2024-2025 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award. Joannopoulos is the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics and director of MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. He has been a member of the […]
The MIT Bike Lab: A place for community, hands-on learning
Bianca Champenois SM ’22 learned to ride a bike when she was 5 years old. She can still hear her sister yelling “equal elbows!” as she pushed her off into the street. Although she started young, her love of bikes really materialized when she was in college. Champenois studied mechanical engineering (MechE) at the University […]
Robotic “SuperLimbs” could help moonwalkers recover from falls
Need a moment of levity? Try watching videos of astronauts falling on the moon. NASA’s outtakes of Apollo astronauts tripping and stumbling as they bounce in slow motion are delightfully relatable. For MIT engineers, the lunar bloopers also highlight an opportunity to innovate. “Astronauts are physically very capable, but they can struggle on the moon, […]
3 Questions: Technology roadmapping in teaching and industry
Innovation is rarely accidental. Behind every new invention and product, including the device you are using to read this story, is years of research, investment, and planning. Organizations that want to reach these milestones in the fastest and most efficient way possible use technology roadmaps. Olivier de Weck, the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and […]
Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2024
The National Academy of Sciences has elected 120 members and 24 international members, including five faculty members from MIT. Guoping Feng, Piotr Indyk, Daniel J. Kleitman, Daniela Rus, and Senthil Todadri were elected in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Membership to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the […]
Professor Emeritus Jerome Connor, pioneer in structural mechanics, dies at 91
Jerome J. Connor ’53, SM ’54, ScD ’59, professor emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a member of the MIT faculty since 1959, died on March 31. He was 91 years old. Over a remarkable career spanning nearly six decades at the Institute, Connor was a prolific scholar and highly respected […]
Hannah Hanemann
I can help you with questions about Slate, the graduate application process, graduate admissions policies, and the Special Student Program. I love the Real Housewives franchises and my cat, Millie, loves to watch reunions with Andy Cohen!
MIT’s Master of Applied Science in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy program adds a public policy track
MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Department of Economics have announced an expansion of their jointly administered Master of Applied Science in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) program. This expansion adds a new public policy track to complement the existing international development track, opening up new avenues for student learning […]
Four from MIT named 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholars
MIT senior Owen Dugan, graduate student Vittorio Colicci ’22, predoctoral research fellow Carine You ’22, and recent alumna Carina Letong Hong ’22 are recipients of this year’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarships. The competitive fellowship, now in its seventh year, funds up to three years of graduate studies in any field at Stanford University. To date, 22 MIT […]
Required trainings
New MIT graduate students are warmly welcomed into our collaboration to create a healthy and vibrant campus community. Onboarding to MIT includes three online courses toward this goal. These courses are administered through a partnership between the Office of Graduate Education (OGE), the Institute Discrimination & Harassment Response Office (IDHR), Intercultural Engagement (i.e.), and the […]
The power of App Inventor: Democratizing possibilities for mobile applications
In June 2007, Apple unveiled the first iPhone. But the company made a strategic decision about iPhone software: its new App Store would be a walled garden. An iPhone user wouldn’t be able to install applications that Apple itself hadn’t vetted, at least not without breaking Apple’s terms of service. That business decision, however, left […]
From steel engineering to ovarian tumor research
Ashutosh Kumar is a classically trained materials engineer. Having grown up with a passion for making things, he has explored steel design and studied stress fractures in alloys. Throughout Kumar’s education, however, he was also drawn to biology and medicine. When he was accepted into an undergraduate metallurgical engineering and materials science program at Indian […]
Professor Emeritus David Lanning, nuclear engineer and key contributor to the MIT Reactor, dies at 96
David Lanning, MIT professor emeritus of nuclear science and engineering and a key contributor to the MIT Reactor project, passed away on April 26 at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, at the age of 96. Born in Baker, Oregon, on March 30, 1928, Lanning graduated in 1951 from the University of Oregon with a […]
MIT Supply Chain Management Program earns top honors in three 2024 rankings
MIT’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) Master’s Program, housed within the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) at the Institute’s School of Engineering, has been named top master’s program for supply chain management for 2024 by three leading global rankings institutions: QS World University Rankings, Eduniversal, and Supply Chain Digital. QS World University Rankings, recognized […]
How AI might shape LGBTQIA+ advocacy
“AI Comes Out of the Closet” is a large learning model (LLM)-based online system that leverages artificial intelligence-generated dialog and virtual characters to create complex social interaction simulations. These simulations allow users to experiment with and refine their approach to LGBTQIA+ advocacy in a safe and controlled environment. The research is both personal and political to lead […]
Two MIT PhD students awarded J-WAFS fellowships for their research on water
Since 2014, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has advanced interdisciplinary research aimed at solving the world’s most pressing water and food security challenges to meet human needs. In 2017, J-WAFS established the Rasikbhai L. Meswani Water Solutions Fellowship and the J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship. These fellowships provide support to outstanding […]
This sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces
We are living in a very noisy world. From the hum of traffic outside your window to the next-door neighbor’s blaring TV to sounds from a co-worker’s cubicle, unwanted noise remains a resounding problem. To cut through the din, an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers from MIT and elsewhere developed a sound-suppressing silk fabric that could […]
Exploring frontiers of mechanical engineering
From cutting-edge robotics, design, and bioengineering to sustainable energy solutions, ocean engineering, nanotechnology, and innovative materials science, MechE students and their advisors are doing incredibly innovative work. The graduate students highlighted here represent a snapshot of the great work in progress this spring across the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and demonstrate the ways the future […]
Fostering research, careers, and community in materials science
Gabrielle Wood, a junior at Howard University majoring in chemical engineering, is on a mission to improve the sustainability and life cycles of natural resources and materials. Her work in the Materials Initiative for Comprehensive Research Opportunity (MICRO) program has given her hands-on experience with many different aspects of research, including MATLAB programming, experimental design, […]
The art of balance: A myth or reality?
As a graduate student at MIT, the concept of balance is often discussed as something we should strive for. But is it truly achievable? Can we truly balance our academic responsibilities, research projects, and personal lives? As someone who enjoys nature, exercise, traveling, cooking, and other non-research related activities, I was curious to find a […]
Science communication competition brings research into the real world
Laurence Willemet remembers countless family dinners where curious faces turned to her with shades of the same question: “What is it, exactly, that you do with robots?” It’s a familiar scenario for MIT students exploring topics outside of their family’s scope of knowledge — distilling complex concepts without slides or jargon, plumbing the depths with nothing […]
MIT faculty, instructors, students experiment with generative AI in teaching and learning
How can MIT’s community leverage generative AI to support learning and work on campus and beyond? At MIT’s Festival of Learning 2024, faculty and instructors, students, staff, and alumni exchanged perspectives about the digital tools and innovations they’re experimenting with in the classroom. Panelists agreed that generative AI should be used to scaffold — not […]
Julie Shah named head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Julie Shah ’04, SM ’06, PhD ’11, the H.N. Slater Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics, has been named the new head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro), effective May 1. “Julie brings an exceptional record of visionary and interdisciplinary leadership to this role. She has made substantial technical contributions in the field of […]
Three from MIT awarded 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships
MIT faculty members Roger Levy, Tracy Slatyer, and Martin Wainwright are among 188 scientists, artists, and scholars awarded 2024 fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Working across 52 disciplines, the fellows were selected from almost 3,000 applicants for “prior career achievement and exceptional promise.” Each fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent […]
Two from MIT awarded 2024 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
MIT graduate student Riyam Al Msari and alumna Francisca Vasconcelos ’20 are among the 30 recipients of this year’s Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. In addition, two Soros winners will begin PhD studies at MIT in the fall: Zijian (William) Niu in computational and systems biology and Russel Ly in economics. The […]
Adventures on Amtrak
Powered by three hours of sleep and some reheated potstickers (in hindsight, this was truly an omen for how the rest of the day would go), I sprung into action at 5:22 am to make the final preparations for my journey back to Cambridge. Coming from a town in Delaware, I had managed to live […]
Graduate appointments
Graduate Student Union overview Over the course of their enrollment, most graduate students employed as research assistants (RAs), teaching assistants (TAs), and in some rare cases graduate instructors (IGs). Enrolled degree-seeking graduate students supported as RAs, TAs, and IGs have appointments that fall under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between MIT and the […]
Study demonstrates efficacy of MIT-led Brave Behind Bars program
Several years ago, a team of scientists from MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell designed and deployed a first-of-its-kind web programming course for incarcerated individuals across multiple correctional facilities. The program, Brave Behind Bars, uses virtual classroom technology to deliver web design training to students behind prison walls. The program brought together men […]
Bringing an investigator’s eye to complex social challenges
Anna Russo likes puzzles. They require patience, organization, and a view of the big picture. She brings an investigator’s eye to big institutional and societal challenges whose solutions can have wide-ranging, long-term impacts. Russo’s path to MIT began with questions. She didn’t have the whole picture yet. “I had no idea what I wanted to […]
Ian Waitz named vice president for research
In a letter to the MIT community today, President Sally Kornbluth announced the appointment of Ian A. Waitz to the position of vice president for research. In the role, Waitz will report to the president and oversee MIT’s vast research enterprise. The appointment is effective May 1. Waitz, who is also the Jerome C. Hunsaker […]
Erin Bahm, Steven Parks named 2024–25 UPS Fellows
The MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) has announced Erin Bahm and Steven Parks as recipients of the UPS Fellowship for the 2024–25 academic year. Made possible by a grant from the UPS Foundation, the UPS Fellowship awards financial support to two outstanding students each year, one incoming MIT master’s student and one MIT doctoral […]
Twenty-three MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2023-25
In the halls of MIT, a distinctive thread of compassion weaves through the fabric of education. As students adjust to a postpandemic normal, many professors have played a pivotal role by helping them navigate the realities of hybrid learning and a rapidly changing postgraduation landscape. The Committed to Caring (C2C) program at MIT is a […]
Researching extreme environments
A quick scan of Emma Bullock’s CV reads like those of many other MIT graduate students: She has served as a teaching assistant, written several papers, garnered grants from prestigious organizations, and acquired extensive lab and programming skills. But one skill sets her apart: “fieldwork experience and survival training for Arctic research.” That’s because Bullock, […]
A home where world-changing innovations take flight
In a large, open space on the first floor of 750 Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a carbon-capture company is heating up molten salts to 600 degrees Celsius right next to a quantum computing company’s device for supercooling qubits. The difference is about 900 degrees across 15 feet. It doesn’t take long in the tour […]
Women in STEM — A celebration of excellence and curiosity
What better way to commemorate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day than to give three of the world’s most accomplished scientists an opportunity to talk about their careers? On March 7, MindHandHeart invited professors Paula Hammond, Ann Graybiel, and Sangeeta Bhatia to share their career journeys, from the progress they have witnessed to the […]
Graduate Student Appreciation Week 2024
Led by the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) and championed by departments and partner offices, Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week is a weeklong celebration thanking graduate and professional students for their incredible contributions to MIT. From April 1-8, 2024, the central calendar featured 16 events and a photo contest, as well as a raffle […]
