When the lights turned on in the universe
Watching crowds of people hustle along Massachusetts Avenue from her window seat in MIT’s student center, Dominika Ďurovčíková has just one wish. “What I would really like to do is convince a city to shut down their lights completely, apart from hospitals or whatever else needs them, just for an hour,” she says. “Let people […]
Lincoln Laboratory and National Strategic Research Institute launch student research program to tackle biothreats to national security
The following announcement was released jointly by MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the National Strategic Research Institute. MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska (NU), a university-affiliated research center designated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), have established a joint student research program. The goal is to […]
Building bidirectional bridges
In June 2023, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities could no longer use race as a factor in their admission decisions, many higher education institutions across the United States faced the same challenge: how to maintain diversity in their student bodies. So Noelle Wakefield, director of MIT’s Summer Research Program (MSRP) and assistant dean […]
NSF GRFP Presentation 3 – Current and Incoming Fellows
Presentation providing an overview of the NSF GRFP at MIT for current fellows!
NSF GRFP Presentation 2 – Prospective and Applying Fellows
Presentation providing an overview of the NSF GRFP at MIT for students looking to apply to the NSF GRFP this fall!
NSF GRFP Presentation – Prospective and Applying Fellows
Presentation providing an overview of the NSF GRFP at MIT for students looking to apply to the NSF GRFP this fall!
Faculty receive promotions in the School of Architecture and Planning
Eleven faculty in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning have been recognized with promotions for their significant contributions to the school, effective July 1. Five faculty promotions are in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning; four are in the Department of Architecture; and two are in the program in Media Arts and Sciences. […]
New framework empowers pavement life-cycle decision-making while reducing data collection burden
Roads are the backbone of our society and economy, taking people and goods across distances long and short. They are a staple of the built environment, taking up nearly 2.8 million lane-miles (or 4.6 million lane-kilometers) of the United States’ surface area. These same roads have a considerable life-cycle environmental impact, having been associated with […]
3 Questions: Preparing students in MIT’s naval ROTC program
Being able to say, “I fly helicopters” — specifically the Seahawk series that boast a maximum cruise elevation of 10,000 feet and 210 miles per hour — must be a great conversation starter. So must saying that you are helping to train a future generation of naval cadets at MIT, Harvard and Tufts universities, and […]
The art of the enzyme
As the mountains and trees of California’s Napa Valley drift past the car window, 6-year-old David Kastner is deep in conversation with his father. The conversation is a familiar one, shifting naturally from gravity to electromagnetism. For as long as he can remember, scientific curiosity has been a key part of his conversations on these […]
Hamsa Balakrishnan appointed associate dean of engineering
Hamsa Balakrishnan, the William E. Leonhard (1940) Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro) at MIT, has been appointed associate dean of the MIT School of Engineering effective Aug. 1. As associate dean, Balakrishnan will focus on efforts to attract, retain, and support top talent across all academic levels in the School of […]
Empowering the next generation of scientists in Africa
No one is born a world-class scientist. Instead, their skills are built over many years of education, networking, mentorship, and work in laboratories or in the field. That’s the fundamental insight behind the not-for-profit organization Future African Scientist, which is seeking to unleash the scientific potential of the continent by providing African students and early-career […]
A bright and airy hub for climate at MIT
Seen from a distance, MIT’s Cecil and Ida Green Building (Building 54) — designed by renowned architect and MIT alumnus I.M. Pei ’40 — is one of the most iconic buildings on the Cambridge, Massachusetts, skyline. Home to the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), the 21-story concrete structure soars over campus, […]
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes nine new faculty
Dean Agustín Rayo and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences recently welcomed nine new professors to the MIT community. They arrive with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their areas of research. Sonya Atalay joins the Anthropology Section as a professor. She is a public anthropologist and archaeologist who studies Indigenous science protocols, […]
From large labs to small teams, mentorship thrives
Each year, new MIT graduate students are tasked with the momentous decision of choosing a research group that will serve as their home for the next several years. Among many questions they face: join an established research effort, or work with a new faculty member in a growing group? Professors Cynthia Breazeal, leading a group […]
Across the pond to scale new heights
Nathanael Jenkins had always wanted to study aerospace engineering, he just hadn’t quite found the right place for it. He had explored options close to his home in Hampshire, U.K., but had never considered studying in the United States. That changed when a family vacation brought him to the MIT campus in 2018. “MIT felt […]
When learning at MIT means studying thousands of miles away
This summer, a group of MIT students traveled to Sicily’s southeastern coast to learn about threats to local communities related to sea level rise. They visited ancient archeological sites that are in danger of being wiped out, and worked with local college students on preservation and adaptation techniques. This past January, another group of MIT […]
The First ‘Hello’: Bridging Worlds in a Symphony of Minds
Walking through the iconic corridors of MIT, I am constantly reminded of the sheer brilliance that surrounds me. Here, every corner seems to buzz with the promise of innovation and breakthrough. Yet, amidst this symphony of intellect, a silent beat throbs—the universal quest for connection. Since the day I received my offer letter, I had […]
Cynthia Breazeal
Cynthia Breazeal is a published author, international award winner, entrepreneur, and thought leader. Even so, some might argue that her most significant achievements lie in her extensive track record of mentorship and teaching, particularly her dedication to her research group. Breazeal is a professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, where she founded and […]
Ming Guo
When Professor Ming Guo first set foot in Cambridge in 2007, fresh from earning his bachelor’s degree at Tsinghua University in China, he could hardly have imagined that he would one day become a professor at MIT. Today, Guo is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, celebrated not only for his groundbreaking research but also […]
Balancing economic development with natural resources protection
It’s one of the paradoxes of economic development: Many countries currently offer large subsidies to their industrial fishing fleets, even though the harms of overfishing are well-known. Governments might be willing to end this practice, if they saw that its costs outweighed its benefits. But each country, acting individually, faces an incentive to keep subsidies […]
Sharikka Finley-Moise
Monday: 3-136Tuesday: RemoteWednesday: RemoteThursday: 3-136Friday: Remote I can help you with academic and personal challenges, advisor concerns, health and/or mental health issues, and medical leave. Learn more about GradSupport. A fun fact about me is that I am a huge music buff and have tons of facts to share about all genres of music!
Mission directors announced for the Climate Project at MIT
The Climate Project at MIT has appointed leaders for each of its six focal areas, or Climate Missions, President Sally Kornbluth announced in a letter to the MIT community today. Introduced in February, the Climate Project at MIT is a major new effort to change the trajectory of global climate outcomes for the better over […]
Three MIT professors named 2024 Vannevar Bush Fellows
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has announced three MIT professors among the members of the 2024 class of the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF). The fellowship is the DoD’s flagship single-investigator award for research, inviting the nation’s most talented researchers to pursue ambitious ideas that defy conventional boundaries. Domitilla Del Vecchio, professor of mechanical […]
MIT affiliates named 2024 HHMI Investigators
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) today announced its 2024 investigators, four of whom hail from the School of Science at MIT: Steven Flavell, Mary Gehring, Mehrad Jazayeri, and Gene-Wei Li. Four others with MIT ties were also honored: Jonathan Abraham, graduate of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program; Dmitriy Aronov PhD ’10; Vijay Sankaran, graduate of the Harvard/MIT […]
Money matters: Part 1
Financial stress is often assumed to be an unavoidable part of the graduate student experience. But does it have to be that way? With a bit of planning and discipline, I have been able to save up enough money to pay off my undergraduate student loans, fund a retirement account, buy a new phone, and […]
“The dance between autonomy and affinity creates morality”
MIT philosophy doctoral student Abe Mathew believes individual rights play an important role in protecting the autonomy we value. But he also thinks we risk serious dysfunction if we ignore the importance of supporting and helping others. “We should also acknowledge another feature of our moral lives,” he says, “namely, our need for affinity or […]
Math program promotes global community for at-risk Ukrainian high schoolers
When Sophia Breslavets first heard about Yulia’s Dream, the MIT Department of Mathematics’ Program for Research in Mathematics, Engineering, and Science (PRIMES) for Ukrainian students, Russia had just invaded her country, and she and her family lived in a town 20 miles from the Russian border. Breslavets had attended a school that emphasized mathematics and physics, took math […]
Collaborative effort supports an MIT resilient to the impacts of extreme heat
Warmer weather can be a welcome change for many across the MIT community. But as climate impacts intensify, warm days are often becoming hot days with increased severity and frequency. Already this summer, heat waves in June and July brought daily highs of over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Resilient Cambridge report published in 2021, […]
Graduate appointments: RA, TA, IG
Research Assistant (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), and Instructor-G (IG) appointments are often part of a graduate student’s financial support. Full details about these funding types are available under Graduate appointments. Only full-time graduate students who are candidates for advanced degrees may be appointed. A Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required for all teaching assistants […]
Machine learning and the microscope
With recent advances in imaging, genomics and other technologies, the life sciences are awash in data. If a biologist is studying cells taken from the brain tissue of Alzheimer’s patients, for example, there could be any number of characteristics they want to investigate — a cell’s type, the genes it’s expressing, its location within the tissue, […]
Community members receive 2024 MIT Excellence Awards, Collier Medal, and Staff Award for Distinction in Service
On Wednesday, June 5, 13 individuals and four teams were awarded MIT Excellence Awards — the highest awards for staff at the Institute. Colleagues holding signs, waving pompoms, and cheering gathered in Kresge Auditorium to show their support for the honorees. In addition to the Excellence Awards, staff members were honored with the Collier Medal, […]
Talking to myself through a reverse to-do list
Communication is the most important skill I have developed in grad school. The types of communication we usually think about are technical and interpersonal communication, such as publishing and presenting your research, or communicating with your advisor. However, one type of communication I overlooked in my first year was communicating to myself. As a first […]
Investigating the past to see technology’s future
The MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) recently organized and hosted a two-day symposium, The History of Technology: Past, Present, and Future. The symposium was held June 7-8 at MIT’s Wong Auditorium, and featured scholars from a variety of institutions with expertise in the history of technology. Each presented their ideas about the […]
Table: Grad student leaves, accommodations, & time away
The summary below helps graduate students understand their eligibility for various types of academic and employment leaves, accommodations, and other time away. Specifically, the information below provides a high-level snapshot of this eligibility based upon appointment/funding status. Click on each appointment/funding status to view eligibility for leaves, accommodations, and other time off from academics and […]
A photographic ode to Cambridge and Boston
Sunsets over the Charles River have my heart ❤️ What is home for you? Everyone has a different concept of home. For some people, a space enclosed by four walls in which they live is home, and for some it is a certain city or town. People like me who have traveled across the globe […]
