The commuter’s crucible
Two years ago, as I prepared to embark on my grad school journey, I devised a bold plan to live far off campus in order to save money. I chose to share a two-bedroom apartment in a town fifteen miles from MIT, fully aware that it would require more effort to get to campus and […]
Minimizing the carbon footprint of bridges and other structures
Awed as a young child by the majesty of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, civil engineer and MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) Fellow Zane Schemmer has retained his fascination with bridges: what they look like, why they work, and how they’re designed and built. He weighed the choice between architecture and engineering […]
Professor William Thilly, whose research illuminated the effects of mutagens on human cells, dies at 79
William Thilly ’67, ScD ’71, a professor in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, died Dec. 24 at his home in Winchester, Massachusetts. He was 79. Thilly, a pioneer in the study of human genetic mutations, had been a member of the MIT faculty since 1972. Throughout his career, he developed novel ways to measure how […]
Insights into political outsiders
As the old saw has it, 90 percent of politics is just showing up. Which is fine for people who are already engaged in the political system and expect to influence it. What about everyone else? The U.S. has millions and millions of people who typically do not vote or participate in politics. Is there […]
Yari Golden-Castaño is over the moon about outreach
Yari Golden-Castaño first learned about the moon, planets, and space while her grandmother in Mexico, Barbarita, taught her how to read from an encyclopedia. Golden-Castaño had already earned the nickname “little astronaut” among her family because of an astronaut onesie that her mother dressed her in. By third grade, she had read a book stating […]
Monitoring space traffic
If there’s a through line in Sydney Dolan’s pursuits, it’s a fervent belief in being a good steward — both in space and on Earth. As a doctoral student in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro), Dolan is developing a model that aims to mitigate satellite collisions. They see space as a public […]
Images that transform through heat
Researchers in MIT Professor Stefanie Mueller’s group have spent much of the last decade developing a variety of computing techniques aimed at reimagining how products and systems are designed. Much in the way that platforms like Instagram allow users to modify 2-D photographs with filters, Mueller imagines a world where we can do the same […]
From chore to creative hobby
We’ve all been there—work drags on longer than expected, protocols need troubleshooting, and by the end of the day, the idea of cooking feels more and more like another chore. Why didn’t I meal prep this Sunday to avoid this current dilemma? Energy levels are low and take-out sounds so good. As a fourth year […]
Loren Graham, professor emeritus of the history of science, dies at 91
Loren R. Graham, professor emeritus of the history of science who served on the MIT faculty for nearly three decades, died on Dec. 15, 2024, at the age of 91. Graham received a BS in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 1955, the same year his classmate, acquaintance, and future NASA astronaut and moon walker […]
Richard Locke PhD ’89 named dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management
Richard Locke PhD ’89, a prominent scholar and academic administrator with a wide range of leadership experience, has been named the new dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management. The appointment is effective July 1. In becoming the school’s 10th dean, Locke is rejoining the Institute, where he previously served in multiple roles from […]
Iain Stewart
“Being around Iain makes us want to be better teachers and mentors”, one his students praised, “and we would be proud to one day be even a fraction as good a professor as he.” Stewart has been selected as a recipient of the Committed to Caring award 2023-2025. Despite his stimulating research and outstanding academic […]
Roberto Fernandez
Roberto Fernandez is the William F. Pounds Professor of Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management as well as the Co-Director of Economic Sociology PhD Program. His research focuses on organizations, social networks, and race and gender stratification. He has extensive experience doing field research in organizations, and he currently focuses on the […]
Hobbies: The Big Four
Imagine this: It’s evening at the Muddy (the on-campus pub known for its cheap beer) during orientation or a mixer. You’re chatting with people you’ve vaguely gotten familiar with, and your drink of choice has made the awkwardness of meeting people ever-so-slightly less so. The evening lights are dim, and there’s some bustle around you […]
Celebrating the opening of the new Graduate Junction residence
Over two choreographed move-in days in August, more than 600 residents unloaded their boxes and belongings into their new homes in Graduate Junction, located at 269 and 299 Vassar Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With smiling ambassadors standing by to assist, residents were welcomed into a new MIT-affiliated housing option that offers the convenience of on-campus licensing terms, pricing, […]
Helping students bring about decarbonization, from benchtop to global energy marketplace
MIT students are adept at producing research and innovations at the cutting edge of their fields. But addressing a problem as large as climate change requires understanding the world’s energy landscape, as well as the ways energy technologies evolve over time. Since 2010, the course IDS.521/IDS.065 (Energy Systems for Climate Change Mitigation) has equipped students […]
Global MIT At-Risk Fellows Program expands to invite Palestinian scholars
When the Global MIT At-Risk Fellows (GMAF) initiative launched in February 2024 as a pilot program for Ukrainian researchers, its architects expressed hope that GMAF would eventually expand to include visiting scholars from other troubled areas of the globe. That time arrived this fall, when MIT launched GMAF-Palestine, a two-year pilot that will select up to […]
MIT-Kalaniyot launches programs for visiting Israeli scholars
Over the past 14 months, as the impact of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war has rippled across the globe, a faculty-led initiative has emerged to support MIT students and staff by creating a community that transcends ethnicity, religion, and political views. Named for a flower that blooms along the Israel-Gaza border, MIT-Kalaniyot began hosting weekly community lunches […]
MIT affiliates receive 2025 IEEE honors
The IEEE recently announced the winners of their 2025 prestigious medals, technical awards, and fellowships. Four MIT faculty members, one staff member, and five alumni were recognized. Regina Barzilay, the School of Engineering Distinguished Professor for AI and Health within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at MIT, received the IEEE Frances […]
MIT welcomes Frida Polli as its next visiting innovation scholar
Frida Polli, a neuroscientist, entrepreneur, investor, and inventor known for her leading-edge contributions at the crossroads of behavioral science and artificial intelligence, is MIT’s new visiting innovation scholar for the 2024-25 academic year. She is the first visiting innovation scholar to be housed within the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. Polli began her career in […]
How to thrift like a pro
Thrifting is more than just a trend – it’s a smart way for college students to save money, find unique items, and contribute to sustainability. Whether you’re an experienced thrifter or just starting, here are some tips to help you make the most out of your next thrift store adventure. Take it from a former […]
Turning adversity into opportunity
Sujood Eldouma always knew she loved math; she just didn’t know how to use it for good in the world. But after a personal and educational journey that took her from Sudan to Cairo to London, all while leveraging MIT Open Learning’s online educational resources, she finally knows the answer: data science. An early love […]
3 Questions: Tracking MIT graduates’ career trajectories
In a fall letter to MIT alumni, President Sally Kornbluth wrote: “[T]he world has never been more ready to reward our graduates for what they know — and know how to do.” During her tenure leading MIT Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD), Deborah Liverman has seen firsthand how — and how well — MIT […]
Street smarts
Dozens of major research labs dot the streets of Kendall Square, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, neighborhood in which MIT partially sits. But for Andres Sevtsuk’s City Form Lab, the streets of Kendall Square themselves, and those in other cities, are subjects for research. Sevtsuk is an associate professor of urban science and planning at MIT and […]
MIT affiliates named 2024 Schmidt Futures AI2050 Fellows
Five MIT faculty members and two additional alumni were recently named to the 2024 cohort of AI2050 Fellows. The honor is announced annually by Schmidt Futures, Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s philanthropic initiative that aims to accelerate scientific innovation. Conceived and co-chaired by Eric Schmidt and James Manyika, AI2050 is a philanthropic initiative aimed at helping […]
In a unique research collaboration, students make the case for less e-waste
Brought together as part of the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative within the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, a community of students known as SERC Scholars is collaborating to examine the most urgent problems humans face in the digital landscape. Each semester, students from all levels from across MIT are invited to […]
From lattes to legumes: How I found balance in work, life, and finances as a broke grad student
As May came to a close, my bank account delivered a nasty surprise: a balance teetering just above $200 – starkly contrasted by a credit card bill that could make anyone wince. This gut-punch is all too familiar for grad students like me who are trying to make ends meet on a student stipend in […]
Graduate Fellowships — General Overview Webinar 1
Why are fellowships great? What is the application process? What are the types of resources available? Highlight: Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund Fellowship, Regeneron Prize, and OGE Competitive Fellowships.
Hank Green to deliver MIT’s 2025 Commencement address
Hank Green, a prolific digital content creator and entrepreneur with the ethos “make things, learn stuff,” will deliver the address at the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 29. Since the 1990s, Green has launched, built, and sustained a wide-ranging variety of projects, from videos to podcasts to novels, many featuring STEM-related topics and a […]
Grad Blog Workshop: Apply by Jan. 6
Have something to say? Blog about it! The MIT Grad Blog is excited to announce its upcoming IAP workshop on blog writing. Please fill out this application by Monday, January 6. You must be available for both sessions. This hands-on workshop will train you how to write an enticing blog post, with individualized feedback from communication staff from across the […]
Transforming fusion from a scientific curiosity into a powerful clean energy source
If you’re looking for hard problems, building a nuclear fusion power plant is a pretty good place to start. Fusion — the process that powers the sun — has proven to be a difficult thing to recreate here on Earth despite decades of research. “There’s something very attractive to me about the magnitude of the […]
Daniela Rus wins John Scott Award
Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was recently named a co-recipient of the 2024 John Scott Award by the board of directors of City Trusts. This prestigious honor, steeped in historical significance, celebrates scientific innovation at the very location where American […]
Introducing MIT HEALS, a life sciences initiative to address pressing health challenges
At MIT, collaboration between researchers working in the life sciences and engineering is a frequent occurrence. Under a new initiative launched last week, the Institute plans to strengthen and expand those collaborations to take on some of the most pressing health challenges facing the world. The new MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative, or MIT HEALS, […]
Have something to say? Blog about it!
Hi MIT Grads! The MIT Grad Blog is excited to announce its upcoming IAP workshop on blog writing. In brief, Attend a 2-day blogging workshop: January 14 and 16, 11am-1pm. Write one blog submission Earn $100 upon completion of post Continue writing for the blog and earn $100 per piece Your work will be eligible for […]
Want to design the car of the future? Here are 8,000 designs to get you started.
Car design is an iterative and proprietary process. Carmakers can spend several years on the design phase for a car, tweaking 3D forms in simulations before building out the most promising designs for physical testing. The details and specs of these tests, including the aerodynamics of a given car design, are typically not made public. […]
MIT delegation mainstreams biodiversity conservation at the UN Biodiversity Convention, COP16
For the first time, MIT sent an organized engagement to the global Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity, which this year was held Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 in Cali, Colombia. The 10 delegates to COP16 included faculty, researchers, and students from the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI), the Department of […]
Discovering the freedom and fun of art without rules
When I stepped into my first glass torchwork class at Metropolis, one of MIT’s makerspaces, I expected to learn a new type of art. I did not expect my experiences with glass to change the way I organize my life. In my first class, my attempts to create a marble resulted in an unintentional and […]
