STEAM power on the runway
Science Surfaces, a capsule collection of body coverings and accessories, serve as canvases for digital prints of ideas inspired by award-winning biomedical images produced by life science research labs at MIT. The exhibition, now on display in the Koch Institute Public Galleries, is the result of the inaugural Peers + Pros Project, a Boston Fashion […]
Illuminating the successes and struggles of MIT Black history
When Victor Ransom ’42 arrived at MIT from New York City in 1941, he discovered a campus electrified by the war effort. People scurried between what he described as MIT’s “massive, unsympathetic buildings” as the campus underwent a transformation that took on new urgency after the attacks on Pearl Harbor that December. During his sophomore […]
3 Questions: The power of music in advancing social justice
It Must Be Now! is an initiative created in response to the racial reckoning of 2020. Multiple events for the MIT community were held throughout 2021 and 2022, leading to an historic multidisciplinary concert in Kresge Auditorium in May 2022, featuring new works by composers Terri Lyne Carrington, Braxton Cook, and Sean Jones, whose creations […]
Preparing students for the new nuclear
As nuclear power has gained greater recognition as a zero-emission energy source, the MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program has taken notice. Two years ago, LGO began a collaboration with MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) as a way to showcase the vital contribution of both business savvy and scientific rigor that […]
Nine from MIT named 2023 Sloan Research Fellows
Nine members of the MIT faculty are among 126 early-career researchers honored across seven fields with 2023 Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Representing the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chemistry, Economics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics, the honorees will each receive a two-year, $75,000 fellowship to advance their research. Including […]
Making nanoparticle building blocks for new materials
Some researchers are driven by the quest to improve a specific product, like a battery or a semiconductor. Others are motivated by tackling questions faced by a given industry. Rob Macfarlane, MIT’s Paul M. Cook Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, is driven by a more fundamental desire. “I like to make things,” Macfarlane […]
Studies of unusual brains reveal critical insights into brain organization, function
E.G. (a pseudonym) is an accomplished woman in her early 60s: She is a college graduate and has an advanced professional degree. She has a stellar vocabulary — in the 98th percentile, according to tests — and has mastered a foreign language (Russian) to the point that she sometimes dreams in it. She also has, […]
How MIT helped young Roxbury photographers of the 1960s turn pro
Fifty years ago, Roxbury was the poorest neighborhood in Boston, just as it is now. Back then, its predominantly Black residents lived with intense and open racism. Hundreds of Roxbury buildings had been knocked down for a highway that was never built, leaving vacant lots. Nationally, the Vietnam War and the Black Power movement were […]
Student-led conference charts the future of micro- and nanoscale research, reinforces scientific community
Snowshoeing and microelectronics are not often mentioned together in the same sentence, but at the Microsystems Annual Research Conference (MARC), winter activities, technical talks, and poster sessions all combine for a two-day flurry of research celebrations. Returning to the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire on Jan. 24-25 for the first time since before […]
In defense of quitting
If a hacker were to break into my phone at the beginning of September and read through my notes, this is the first one they would find: I think MIT is full of people who have a hard time saying no to exciting opportunities, and I am no exception. I’ve been following a roughly 4 […]
MIT efforts support earthquake relief for communities in Turkey and Syria
The catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 has left more than 41,000 people dead, and many more still not counted under the rubble. More than a million people have been left homeless in Turkey alone. Bilge Yildiz, MIT professor of nuclear science and of materials science and engineering, was born and […]
Priscilla King Gray, co-founder and namesake of Institute’s public service center, dies at 89
Priscilla King Gray, an integral part of the fabric at MIT for more than 50 years, died on Feb. 8. She was 89. Gray, who had been the wife of former MIT president Paul Gray ’54, SM ’55, ScD ’60 until his death in 2017, co-founded the MIT Public Service Center — since renamed in […]
Democratizing education: Bringing MIT excellence to the masses
How do you quantify the value of education or measure success? For the team behind the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society’s (IDSS) MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science (SDS), providing over 1,000 individuals from around the globe with access to MIT-level programming feels like a pretty good place to start. Thanks to […]
GSC Institute Awards – Nominations are now open!
Every year, the GSC gives out four Institute Awards to be presented at the Institute Awards Convocation. The awards are: Nomination of students and faculty for these awards offer a unique opportunity to honor these individuals for their invaluable contributions to graduate students and to thank them for their efforts. A complete nomination requires a […]
“MIT Illuminations,” a colorful installation to creative computation, is open in Kendall Square
Recently, MIT Admissions and MIT Open Space Programming jointly launched a new lighting installation, “MIT Illuminations,” in partnership with SOSO, an MIT-alumni founded experiential design firm. The installation spans 120 linear feet, indirectly illuminating an acoustical fabric frieze within the new MIT Welcome Center, and by night transforming the center into a colorful, inviting beacon […]
Learning challenges shape a mechanical engineer’s path
Before James Hermus started elementary school, he was a happy, curious kid who loved to learn. By the end of first grade, however, all that started to change, he says. As his schoolbooks became more advanced, Hermus could no longer memorize the words on each page, and pretend to be reading. He clearly knew the […]
Angela Davis: “We need to renew our commitments to struggle against racism”
MIT’s 49th annual Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took place Wednesday before an overflow crowd at Morss Hall and featured activist and author Angela Y. Davis as its keynote speaker. The celebration luncheon was the lead event in a week of activities honoring the civil rights leader, and […]
Inside two MIT students’ historic BattleBots runs
First, there was music. Then lights began sweeping the smoky arena. The cage came alive with rotating steel blades and fire pits. The crowd grew hysterical in anticipation of the coming destruction. Such was the scene of the momentous championship match in the last season of BattleBots, a popular, long-running show that pits 250-pound robots […]
My adventures with MIT Sailing!
I was always drawn to bodies of water like rivers and seas. I had visions of sailing on boats and riding on ferries, but I never imagined that I would learn how to sail myself! When I first arrived at MIT, I heard about the MIT Sailing program, but an obstacle stood in my way: […]
Tax workshop: Resident students/scholars and US citizens
Presented by MIT. No registration required; Zoom link available. The Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) sponsors Individual Tax Workshops for MIT students and scholars typically in February and March. The purpose of these workshops is to provide general guidance to students and scholars on the process of filing U.S. and MA tax returns. The […]
Tax workshop: Nonresident scholars
Presented by Sprintax. Register. The Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) sponsors Individual Tax Workshops for MIT students and scholars typically in February and March. The purpose of these workshops is to provide general guidance to students and scholars on the process of filing U.S. and MA tax returns. The workshops are not intended to […]
Tax workshop: Nonresident students
Presented by Sprintax. No registration required; Zoom link available. The Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) sponsors Individual Tax Workshops for MIT students and scholars typically in February and March. The purpose of these workshops is to provide general guidance to students and scholars on the process of filing U.S. and MA tax returns. The […]
Introduction to Investing Part 3: Tools for Investing; Online Demo
Emily Freund, Fidelity Investments, will return for the final part of our series to discuss choosing investment vehicles and offer tips for fund selection. We will also introduce some more advanced investing topics such as options trading and factor-based investing.
Introduction to Investing Part 2: Principles of Investing and Managing a Portfolio
Emily Freund, Fidelity Investments. A slightly more advanced discussion that will build on the knowledge offered in Part 1. Emily Freund, Fidelity Investments, will discuss asset allocation, asset location, and understanding the market and economic business cycle.
Introduction to Investing Part 1: “Five Money Musts”
Emily Freund, Fidelity Investments. A discussion of getting your finances to the point where you can begin thinking about investing as a vehicle for your money. Topics covered will include taking on debt vs. savings, the basics of asset classes (i.e., stocks, bonds, real estate, cash, digital assets, etc.), financial independence, and different types of […]
Rescuing small plastics from the waste stream
As plastic pollution continues to mount, with growing risks to ecosystems and wildlife, manufacturers are beginning to make ambitious commitments to keep new plastics out of the environment. A growing number have signed onto the U.S. Plastics Pact, which pledges to make 100 percent of plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and to see 50 […]
“Every time I meet with her, I feel like I have wings.”
Although her research focuses on daunting issues such as global poverty, MIT Professor Esther Duflo never neglects to dedicate time to something else she finds just as important: mentoring her graduate students. To mark her unwavering support, Duflo was recently honored as “Committed to Caring” for consistently propping up graduate students, and for helping them […]
Bilge Yildiz wins Rahmi M. Koç Medal of Science
Before being awarded the Koç University Rahmi M. Koç Medal of Science in her native Turkey, Bilge Yildiz was nervous. But it wasn’t standing in front of an audience of hundreds that stressed the Breene M. Kerr Professor in the departments of Nuclear Science and Engineering and of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE). It wasn’t […]
Six with ties to MIT honored as 2022 ACM Fellows
On Jan. 18, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) announced its 2022 fellows, those it recognizes “for significant contributions in areas including cybersecurity, human-computer interaction, mobile computing, and recommender systems among many other areas.” Included in the crop of new fellows were six distinguished scientists with ties to MIT. Constantinos Daskalakis, the Armen Avanessians (1982) […]
Blue-sky thinking and the next 150-year chair
A major aspect of sustainability — a core component in many MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) courses — is considering the future effect of any given business practice or product. Sustainability was top-of-mind for Skylar Tibbits, associate professor of design research and director of MIT’s design major and minor programs, and Jeremy Carmine […]
Making computer science research more accessible in India
Imagine that you are teaching a technical subject to children in a small village. They are eager to learn, but you face a problem: There are few resources to educate them in their mother tongue. This is a common experience in India, where the quality of textbooks written in many local languages pales in comparison […]
Startups led by MIT mechanical engineers offer health care solutions
Health care has always been ripe for innovation. Whether it’s increasing safety in operating rooms, developing systems to reduce patient wait times, or improving drug delivery, there are endless opportunities to improve the efficacy and efficiency of health care. The Covid-19 pandemic made the need for these solutions all the more pressing. “There were a […]
MIT is the Hollywood of academia
I always dreamed of doing great things and having a positive impact on the world. In my naivety, I believed that only celebrities have this kind of world-reaching influence. With this dream at the forefront of my mind, in 2018-2019, I pursued a career in acting and screenwriting, motivated by a desire to become a […]
Remembering Mary Morrissey, whose service to MIT spanned 45 years
Mary Louise Morrissey, whose career at MIT spanned 45 years, including her service as director of the Information and Special Events Center, passed away peacefully on Jan. 17 at the age of 95. Morrissey joined the MIT community in 1950, working in the Registrar’s Office. At the time, all student transcripts were handwritten in India […]
Matthew Notowidigdo appointed co-scientific director of J-PAL North America
J-PAL North America has announced that Matthew “Matt” Notowidigdo ’03, MEng ’04, PhD ’10, professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, is joining Amy Finkelstein as co-scientific director of the organization, replacing Lawrence “Larry” Katz. Katz is stepping down after nearly 10 years of supporting the growth and development of […]
Sensing with purpose
Fadel Adib never expected that science would get him into the White House, but in August 2015 the MIT graduate student found himself demonstrating his research to the president of the United States. Adib, fellow grad student Zachary Kabelac, and their advisor, Dina Katabi, showcased a wireless device that uses Wi-Fi signals to track an […]
