Escape the lab: Summer fun!
In Cambridge, summer is a season you just can’t beat. The sunshine is fierce, radiant, and clarifying. The heat is a welcome break from the chill, damp months of spring and winter. People bloom from the secret recesses of their homes and step out into the light, tentatively blinking, stretching, unfolding. Yet somehow you find […]
MIT community members who work to eradicate sexual violence recognized at 2023 Change-Maker Awards
On April 24, MIT celebrated outstanding students and employees at the annual Change-Maker Awards for their diligent work to eradicate sexual misconduct and support survivors. These architects of positive change exemplify one of MIT’s core values: striving to make our community a more humane and welcoming place where all can thrive. Hosted by MIT Violence […]
Alvaro Sahagun receives the 2023 OGE Service Award at the RISE Awards
A collaborative effort of the Institute Community and Equity Office, Intercultural Engagement (i.e.), LBGTQ+ Services, Office of the First Year, Office of Graduate Education, Office of Minority Education, and Women and Gender Services — the RISE AWARDS celebrates MIT faculty, staff, and students on their work with diversity, inclusion, and social justice on and off […]
Understanding boiling to help the nuclear industry and space missions
To launch extended missions in space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is borrowing a page from the nuclear engineering industry: It is trying to understand how boiling works. Planning for long-term missions has NASA researching ways of packing the least amount of cryogenic fuel possible for efficient liftoff. One potential solution is to […]
Six ways MIT is taking action on climate
From reuse and recycling to new carbon markets, events during Earth Month at MIT spanned an astonishing range of ideas and approaches to tackling the climate crisis. The MIT Climate Nucleus offered funding to departments and student organizations to develop programming that would showcase the countless initiatives underway to make a better world. Here are […]
First-of-its-kind Indigenous immersive incubator gathers on MIT campus
An historic delegation of 10 Indigenous artists and advisors recently gathered on MIT’s campus to share their work with each other and with the MIT community. The theme of the ISO Indigenous Incubator at MIT gathering was “Indigenous Knowledge and Immersive Technologies.” Led by the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) of Canada and hosted by the […]
George Clark, professor emeritus and X-ray astronomy leader, dies at 94
MIT Professor Emeritus George Whipple Clark PhD ’52, an astrophysicist who was highly influential in X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, died on April 6 in Boston. He was 94. Clark employed buckets, balloons, rockets, and satellites in his nearly lifelong pursuit to understand the nature and origins of cosmic rays, gamma rays, and X-rays. Clark discovered […]
3 Questions: Can disused croplands help mitigate climate change?
As the world struggles to meet internationally agreed targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, methods of removing carbon dioxide such as reforestation of cleared areas have become an increasingly important strategy. But little attention has been paid to the potential for abandoned or marginal croplands to be restored to natural vegetation as an additional carbon […]
Architectural heritage like you haven’t seen it before
The shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa is a spectacular mosque in Balkh, Afghanistan. Also known as the “Green Mosque” due to the brilliant color of its tiled and painted dome, the intricately decorated building dates to the 16th century. If it were more accessible, the Green Mosque would attract many visitors. But Balkh is […]
Six MIT SHASS educators receive 2023 Levitan Teaching Awards
Six individuals have received the James A. and Ruth Levitan Teaching Award for 2023. The award, given annually by the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), honors superlative teachers across the school, who have been nominated by MIT students. The 2023 winners are: Nicholas Ackert in the Department of Political Science, Nilma […]
Toward more flexible and rapid prototyping of electronic devices
Whether you are a new employee, a gymnast, or a bendy straw manufacturer, one trait is ideal across the board: flexibility. The same can now be said about prototyping electronic devices. While designers typically test out their designs on “breadboards,” or thin plastic boards that can hold together electronic components, they are often stiff and […]
Poetechnics: A podcast at the intersection of poetic and technical knowledge
If you’re searching for a podcast about the intersections between poetic and technical knowledge, look no further. Poetechnics is a new audio series from the MIT Literature Section produced by Lecturer Michael Lutz, whose scholarly interests include early modern British literature and culture; media studies, including digital media and videogames; philosophy and literature; and the […]
Is medicine ready for AI? Doctors, computer scientists, and policymakers are cautiously optimistic
The advent of generative artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT has prompted renewed calls for AI in health care, and its support base only appears to be broadening. The second annual MIT-MGB AI Cures Conference, hosted on April 24 by the Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health (Jameel Clinic), saw its attendance nearly […]
Paula Hammond wins faculty’s Killian Award for 2023-24
Paula Hammond, a leading innovator in nanotechnology and head of MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2023-2024 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award. Hammond, an MIT Institute Professor, was honored for her work designing novel polymers and nanomaterials, which have extensive applications in fields including medicine and energy. […]
J-WAFS announces 2023 seed grant recipients
Today, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) announced its ninth round of seed grants to support innovative research projects at MIT. The grants are designed to fund research efforts that tackle challenges related to water and food for human use, with the ultimate goal of creating meaningful impact as the world […]
John Hart named head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering
John Hart, MIT professor of mechanical engineering, has been named the new head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, effective July 1. “John has played a vital role shaping MIT’s manufacturing ecosystem over the past decade. He is also tremendously dedicated to the mechanical engineering community at MIT,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT […]
MIT School of Science announces 2023 Infinite Mile Awards
Since 2001, the MIT School of Science has awarded Infinite Mile Awards to staff members who go the extra mile to make the Institute a better place. Nominated by their colleagues, the winners receive a monetary award and are invited to attend a celebratory event with family, friends, nominators, and recipients of the Infinite Expansion […]
Mike Barrett: Climate goals may take longer, but we’ll get there
The Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and the war in Ukraine have combined to cause unavoidable delays in implementation of Massachusetts’s ambitious goals to tackle climate change, state Senator Mike Barrett said during his April 19 presentation at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Earth Day Colloquium. But, he added, he remains optimistic that the goals will be […]
Thirteen from MIT win 2023 Fulbright fellowships
Thirteen MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have been awarded Fulbright fellowships and will embark on projects overseas in the 2023-24 grant year. Four other MIT affiliates were offered awards but declined them to pursue other opportunities. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers American citizen students and recent […]
Four researchers with MIT ties earn 2023 Schmidt Science Fellowships
Four researchers with ties to MIT have been named Schmidt Science Fellows this year. Lillian Chin ’17, SM ’19; Neil Dalvie PD ’22, PhD ’22; Suong Nguyen, and Yirui Zhang SM ’19, PhD ’23 are among the 32 exceptional early-career scientists worldwide chosen to receive the prestigious fellowships. “History provides powerful examples of what happens […]
Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2023
The National Academy of Sciences has elected 120 members and 23 international members, including five faculty members from MIT. Joshua Angrist, Gang Chen, Catherine Drennan, Dina Katabi, and Gregory Stephanopoulos were elected in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Membership to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest […]
3 Questions: Jacob Andreas on large language models
Words, data, and algorithms combine, An article about LLMs, so divine. A glimpse into a linguistic world, Where language machines are unfurled. It was a natural inclination to task a large language model (LLM) like CHATGPT with creating a poem that delves into the topic of large language models, and subsequently utilize said poem as […]
Adventures in the Pappalardo Lab
In about 2010, working as a principal and director of mechanical engineering at Continuum, a global innovation firm, Daniel Braunstein says he felt that what he was providing wasn’t as meaningful as he would like. Luckily for MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), he found an ideal next step. “I’m kind of cautious about telling […]
2023: Hope Dargan
“Warm and engaging,” Hope Dargan is considered “a role model for all teaching assistants” by her fellow teaching assistants and an overall “rockstar instructor” in computer science by her students. In honor of Hope’s intuitive and skillful teaching, she was honored with the 2023 Goodwin Medal. She reaches students at all levels of experience, from […]
Success at the intersection of technology and finance
Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin had some free advice for an at-capacity crowd of MIT students at the Wong Auditorium during a campus visit in April. “If you find yourself in a career where you’re not learning,” he told them, “it’s time to change jobs. In this world, if you’re not learning, you can […]
Advocating for science budget and policy
A group of 20 MIT students and postdocs from various departments traveled to Washington from March 27-29 to advocate for increased federal funding of scientific research for the 2024 fiscal year. The trip was part of the Congressional Visit Days program, organized by MIT’s Science Policy Initiative, a student-run organization that introduces the scientists of […]
MIT HUMANS project breaks down borders, empowering global voices to reach for the stars
When the Axiom-2 mission launches later this month, it will carry with it a payload of languages never heard beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The Humanity United with MIT Art and Nanotechnology in Space (HUMANS) nanowafer, which will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the mission, is a record of messages in over […]
After Amazon, an ambition to accelerate American manufacturing
After more than two decades as part of Amazon’s core leadership team, Jeff Wilke helped transform the way people buy almost everything. His next act is no less ambitious: proving that America can make just about anything. In March 2021, Wilke stepped down from his post as CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer business — encompassing […]
A transformative era ends at the Center for International Studies
In the early 1980s, Richard Samuels PhD ’80 was an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, specializing in Japanese politics and public policy. With the rapid emergence of Japan as a global economic powerhouse, Samuels, now the director of the Center for International Studies (CIS) and Ford International Professor of Political Science, had […]
There’s something for everyone at the “front porch of campus”
There’s a long list of reasons why MIT’s sailing pavilion is unique. For one, it’s home to the oldest collegiate sailing program in the world. It’s also completely free and open to the MIT community — a rarity among sailing programs, made possible by alumni donations. There are also not many sailing facilities in the […]
Third annual MIT Research Slam showcase highlights PhD and postdoc communication skills
An 80,000 word PhD thesis would take many hours to present. MIT Research Slam competitors get three minutes. The finalists of the 2023 MIT Research Slam competition met head-to-head on April 19 at a live, in-person showcase event. Four PhD candidates and five postdoc finalists competed for the judges’ and audience’s vote. The contestants put […]
School of Engineering first quarter 2023 awards
Faculty and researchers across MIT’s School of Engineering receive many awards in recognition of their scholarship, service, and overall excellence. The School of Engineering periodically recognizes their achievements by highlighting the honors, prizes, and medals won by faculty and research scientists working in our academic departments, labs, and centers. Anuradha Agarwal of the MIT Microphotonics Center won Phase […]
Envisioning education in a climate-changed world
What must colleges and universities do differently to help students develop the skills, capacities, and perspectives they’ll need to live, lead, and thrive in a world being remade by the accelerating climate crisis? That question was at the heart of a recent convening on MIT’s campus that brought together faculty and staff from more than 30 […]
“Join us in something important and new”
Sally Kornbluth made a resounding call today for the entire MIT community to join together and address the “global crises” of the current era, including climate change, in her inaugural address as the Institute’s 18th president. “I hope to inspire you to join us in something important and new,” Kornbluth said in remarks delivered to […]
MIT faculty tackle big ideas in a symposium kicking off Inauguration Day
Big ideas took the stage on Monday morning, ahead of the inauguration of MIT’s 18th president, Sally Kornbluth. As final preparations were underway on Killian Court for the afternoon’s ceremonies, members of the MIT community gathered to welcome Kornbluth with an academic symposium exploring the theme “Where Big Ideas Come From — and Why They […]
Open-source platform simulates wildlife for soft robotics designers
Since the term “soft robotics” was adopted in 2008, engineers in the field have been building diverse representations of flexible machines useful in exploration, locomotion, rehabilitation, and even space. One source of inspiration: the way animals move in the wild. A team of MIT researchers has taken this a step further, developing SoftZoo, a bio-inspired […]
