The scholar-warrior: How Erik Lin-Greenberg bridges academia and Air Force intelligence
At a time when the U.S. Department of Defense increasingly grapples with emerging technologies and their implications for national security, Erik Lin-Greenberg ’09, SM ’09 occupies a rare position at the intersection of theory and practice.The MIT political scientist and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve recently assumed command of the 820th Intelligence […]
The math of politics and power
Every day, students at MIT come together to learn, work, play, and form communities large and small. Community Spotlight stories are intended to provide a glimpse inside the Institute’s classrooms, labs, and other gathering places to show how people come together, and how they share what it means to be part of MIT’s community of […]
Animation technique simulates the motion of squishy objects
Animators could create more realistic bouncy, stretchy, and squishy characters for movies and video games thanks to a new simulation method developed by researchers at MIT. Their approach allows animators to simulate rubbery and elastic materials in a way that preserves the physical properties of the material and avoids pitfalls like instability. The technique simulates […]
Scene at MIT: Reflecting on a shared journey toward MIT PhDs
“My wife, Erin Tevonian, and I both graduated last week with our PhDs in biological engineering, a program we started together when we arrived at MIT in fall 2019. At the time, we had already been dating for three years, having met as classmates in the bioengineering program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign […]
Time is ticking for the creative art industry?
What would you do at 7:30 am on a 30 degree, rainy Saturday morning? If it also happened to be Lunar New Year’s Eve? While my roommate was still waking up and getting ready to wish his family a happy New Year, I was carrying a box of T-shirts and running to the MIT Innovation […]
Guardian Ag’s crop-spraying drone is replacing dangerous pilot missions
Every year during the growing season, thousands of pilots across the country climb into small planes loaded with hundreds of pounds of pesticides and fly extremely close to the ground at upward of 140 miles an hour, unloading their cargo onto rows of corn, cotton, and soybeans. The world of agricultural aviation is as dangerous […]
Highlights from MIT’s first-ever Artfinity festival
When people think of MIT, they may first think of code, circuits, and cutting-edge science. But the school has a rich history of interweaving art, science, and technology in unexpected and innovative ways — and that’s never been more clear than with the Institute’s latest festival, Artfinity: A Celebration of Creativity and Community at MIT. After […]
Teaching AI models what they don’t know
Artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT provide plausible-sounding answers to any question you might ask. But they don’t always reveal the gaps in their knowledge or areas where they’re uncertain. That problem can have huge consequences as AI systems are increasingly used to do things like develop drugs, synthesize information, and drive autonomous cars. Now, the […]
MIT students and postdoc explore the inner workings of Capitol Hill
This spring, 25 MIT students and a postdoc traveled to Washington, where they met with congressional offices to advocate for federal science funding and specific, science-based policies based on insights from their research on pressing issues — including artificial intelligence, health, climate and ocean science, energy, and industrial decarbonization. Organized annually by the Science Policy […]
Eight with MIT ties win 2025 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
The Hertz Foundation announced that it has awarded fellowships to eight MIT affiliates. The prestigious award provides each recipient with five years of doctoral-level research funding (up to a total of $250,000), which gives them an unusual measure of independence in their graduate work to pursue groundbreaking research. The MIT-affiliated awardees are Matthew Caren ’25; April Qiu Cheng […]
3 Questions: How to help students recognize potential bias in their AI datasets
Every year, thousands of students take courses that teach them how to deploy artificial intelligence models that can help doctors diagnose disease and determine appropriate treatments. However, many of these courses omit a key element: training students to detect flaws in the training data used to develop the models. Leo Anthony Celi, a senior research […]
On-campus hourly employment
A student who is a US citizen or permanent resident who applies to work, in addition to their RA or TA appointment, may be permitted additional compensated employment at MIT for no more than 10 hours per week during the academic year, especially to support campus life activities (e.g., staffing the front desk of a residence hall). […]
Mary Robinson urges MIT School of Architecture and Planning graduates to “find a way to lead”
“Class of 2025, are you ready?” This was the question Hashim Sarkis, dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, posed to the graduating class at the school’s Advanced Degree Ceremony at Kresge Auditorium on May 29. The response was enthusiastic applause and cheers from the 224 graduates from the departments of Architecture and […]
Sally Kornbluth’s charge to the Class of 2025
Below is the text of President Sally Kornbluth’s 2025 MIT Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Good afternoon, everyone! Governor Healey. The members of the Class of 1975, in their incredibly fashionable red jackets! And of course, all the members of the Class of 2025 — and your devoted family and friends! At MIT, […]
Hank Green urges the Class of 2025 to work on “everyday solvable problems of normal people”
An energetic OneMIT Commencement ceremony today featured calls for MIT’s newest graduates to have a positive impact on society while upholding the Institute’s core values of open inquiry and productive innovation. “Orient yourself not just toward the construction and acquisition of new tools, but to the needs of people,” said science communicator Hank Green, in […]
Commencement address by Hank Green
Below is the text of Hank Green’s Commencement remarks as prepared for delivery on May 29. I don’t really do imposter syndrome, that’s where you feel like you don’t belong. I have a superior syndrome called “Hahaha I fooled them again” syndrome where I know that I don’t belong, but I also am very pleased […]
MIT Corporation elects 10 term members, three life members
The MIT Corporation — the Institute’s board of trustees — has elected 10 full-term members, who will serve three- or five-year terms, and three life members. Corporation Chair Mark P. Gorenberg ’76 announced the election results today. The full-term members are: Wes Bush, Ruby R. Chandy, Hala Fadel, Jacques Frederic Kerrest, Michelle K. Lee, Bianca […]
3 Questions: Hank Green on science, communication, and curiosity
Hank Green, prolific content creator and YouTuber whose work has often focused on science and STEM-oriented topics, is delivering today’s OneMIT Commencement address. Green, along with his brother John, has built the educational media company Complexly, racking up over 2 billion views for the their content, including the channels SciShow and CrashCourse. MIT News talked with Green in advance […]
Nominate faculty
Nominate a faculty member Nominations for the 2025-27 round of Committed to Caring (C2C) faculty are now closed. Thank you for your interest in honoring excellence in mentoring, and stay tuned later this year to learn more about the next group of C2C faculty. Criteria for selection for a “Committed to Caring” honor include: Impact. […]
An anomaly detection framework anyone can use
Sarah Alnegheimish’s research interests reside at the intersection of machine learning and systems engineering. Her objective: to make machine learning systems more accessible, transparent, and trustworthy. Alnegheimish is a PhD student in Principal Research Scientist Kalyan Veeramachaneni’s Data-to-AI group in MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS). Here, she commits most of her energy […]
MIT D-Lab students design global energy solutions through collaboration
This semester, MIT D-Lab students built prototype solutions to help farmers in Afghanistan, people living in informal settlements in Argentina, and rural poultry farmers in Cameroon. The projects span continents and collectively stand to improve thousands of lives — and they all trace back to two longstanding MIT D-Lab classes. For the last seven years, […]
Building networks of data science talent
The rise of artificial intelligence resurfaces a question older than the abacus: If we have a tool to do it for us, why learn to do it ourselves? The answer, argues MIT electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) Professor Devavrat Shah, hasn’t changed: Foundational skills in mathematics remain essential to using tools well, from knowing […]
MIT announces the Initiative for New Manufacturing
MIT today launched its Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM), an Institute-wide effort to reinfuse U.S. industrial production with leading-edge technologies, bolster crucial U.S. economic sectors, and ignite job creation. The initiative will encompass advanced research, innovative education programs, and partnership with companies across many sectors, in a bid to help transform manufacturing and elevate its […]
The Dome of Dreams
The majestic MIT Dome is a sight to behold! It is a universal dream – whether you go to MIT or not, to get ‘that’ photo at Killian with the Dome adorning the backdrop. Some grandiose few have performed flash mob proposals in front of the Dome, but for the simple rest when this backdrop […]
Fueling social impact: PKG IDEAS Challenge invests in bold student-led social enterprises
On Wednesday, April 16, members of the MIT community gathered at the MIT Welcome Center to celebrate the annual IDEAS Social Innovation Challenge Showcase and Awards ceremony. Hosted by the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center (PKG Center), the event celebrated 19 student-led teams who spent the spring semester developing and implementing solutions to complex social and environmental […]
A day in the life of MIT MBA student David Brown
“MIT Sloan was my first and only choice,” says MIT graduate student David Brown. After receiving his BS in chemical engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Brown spent eight years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, serving as a platoon leader and troop commander. Now in the final year of […]
2025: Shannon Knight & Haley Nakamura
In her role as a teacher, Shannon Knight has been unwaveringly committed to fostering a learning environment that is inclusive, welcoming, and intellectually stimulating. One student praised her “unique way of simplifying the material without compromising its depth. She often used real-world analogies and interactive discussions to ensure we grasped key principles in a way […]
2024: Alex Schmid & Eppa Rixey
Fourth-year Operations Research PhD student Alex Schmid’s efforts as a teacher in the classroom had a tremendous impact on the learning experience of her students. Schmid has served as a teaching assistant, instructor of record, and session instructor in three courses at MIT, including coordinating an eight-session course as well as designing a workshop for […]
Previous Recipients
Former Goodwin Medal Recipients The Goodwin Medal has been celebrating excellence in teaching since 1952. Please find more information about past recipients below. Year Name Department 2026 Finn Thompson Biology 2025 Shannon Knight & Haley Nakamura Brain and Cognitive Sciences & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 2024 Alex Schmid & Eppa Rixey Operations Research Center […]
Class pairs students with military officers to build mission-critical solutions
On a recent Friday afternoon, Marine Corps General and U.S. Congressman Jake Auchincloss stood in the front of a crowded MIT classroom in Building 1 and made his case for modernizing America’s military to counter the threat from China. Part of his case involved shifting resources away from the U.S. Army to bolster the Marines, […]
Dimitris Bertsimas receives the 2025-2026 Killian Award
Dimitris Bertsimas SM ’87, PhD ’88, a leading figure in operations research, has been named the recipient of the 2025-26 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award. It is the highest honor the MIT faculty grants to its own professors. Bertsimas is the Boeing Professor of Operations Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management, […]
Drug injection device wins MIT $100K Competition
The winner of this year’s MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is helping advanced therapies reach more patients faster with a new kind of drug-injection device. CoFlo Medical says its low-cost device can deliver biologic drugs more than 10 times faster than existing methods, accelerating the treatment of a range of conditions including cancers, autoimmune diseases, and […]
Weak signals can build strong bonds
Picture this: You’ve been on the road for 11 hours. Your bladder is full and your stomach is empty, but all you drive by is trees, fields, and the occasional farmhouse. You grip the steering wheel and squint through the dark at the road in front of you, expecting to come face-to-face with a deer around every turn…
MIT Department of Economics to launch James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work
Starting in July, MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work Initiative in the Department of Economics will usher in a significant new era of research, policy, and education of the next generation of scholars, made possible by a gift from the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation. In recognition of the gift and the expansion […]
Greed, Altruism, and Optics
Part 1: Greed I am easily MIT’s biggest free food fiend. Of course, everyone here loves free food and the Institute always has plenty to give out if you know the right places to look (spoiler alert: usually not the free food mailing lists). While I as a current MIT Technology and Policy Program student […]
Using AI to explore the 3D structure of the genome
Inside every human cell, 2 meters of DNA is crammed into a nucleus that is only one-hundredth of a millimeter in diameter. To fit inside that tiny space, the genome must fold into a complex structure known as chromatin, made up of DNA and proteins. The structure of that chromatin, in turn, helps to determine […]
