Sam Madden named faculty head of computer science in EECS
Sam Madden, the College of Computing Distinguished Professor of Computing at MIT, has been named the new faculty head of computer science in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), effective Aug. 1.Madden succeeds Arvind, a longtime MIT professor and prolific computer scientist, who passed away in June.“Sam’s research leadership and commitment […]
Keeping the cosmos clean
Asked to describe his work for a lay audience, Allan Shtofenmakher responds with an unexpected question: “Have you ever seen the movie ‘Wall-E?’” Recalling that the 2008 Disney-Pixar movie’s view of Earth from space was “brown and dusty and just surrounded by tons and tons of space junk,” he cautions, “If we’re not good stewards […]
Steven Derocher
Monday: Remote Tuesday: 3-107Wednesday: RemoteThursday: 3-107Friday: Remote I oversee information systems, data reporting and analysis, and helping everyone make better data informed decisions. A fun fact about me: I love to sail, and I’m a born tinkerer and maker, it’s probably why I enjoy being at MIT!
Anything but not everything
Infinite Corridor, finite student To walk down the Infinite Corridor at MIT is to be inundated with posters for student organizations and events. In December, flyers advertising IAP activities on just one of the bulletin boards included invitations to “learn Quechua in three weeks,” “study in Japan with MISTI,” and “weld your own bike!” I […]
Celebrating National Student Parent Month
Happy National Student Parent Month! This month, the Office of Graduate Education is featuring one graduate student parent per week, highlighting their academic work and parenting journey at MIT. Please check back weekly for more student parent features! Diana Grass Family: Husband and two children Degree program: PhD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics in […]
Touch grass? More like touch clay.
First discovered as an undergraduate student The first time I heard about the MIT Arts Studio was when I was an undergraduate student at MIT and saw an email sent out by a recent alumna to her former dorm Next House (which is right next to Tang): “Hey guys, sign ups for the fall classes […]
General Fellowships Overview Webinar 1
Why are fellowships great? What is the application process? What are the types of resources available? Highlight: Hertz, NDSEG, JaneStreet, and GEM.
Designing better delivery for medical therapies
Early in his undergraduate studies in bioengineering, Sayo Eweje was thinking of a career in medicine. He was inspired by the idea of harnessing medical knowledge to improve patients’ lives, having grown up seeing his father do so as a gastroenterologist. However, his research experiences in college made him appreciate how scientific advancement can lead […]
Making a measurable economic impact
How do you measure the value of an economic policy? Of an aid organization’s programming? For Saeed Miganeh, who completed an MITx MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy and is now enrolled in MIT’s master’s program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP), these are key questions he is determined to answer. “Enrolling at MIT fed […]
Money matters: Part 2
If you’ve read part one of this blog post, you know how to use a budget to help manage your money. What can we do with what we save, and how can we make what we spend really count? Beyond budgeting, there are some more advanced moves that we can make with our money, even […]
Duane Boning named vice provost for international activities
Duane Boning ’84, SM ’86, PhD ’91 has been named the next MIT vice provost for international activities (VPIA), effective Sept. 1. Boning, the Clarence J. LeBel Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at MIT, succeeds Japan Steel Industry Professor Richard Lester, who has served as VPIA since 2015. The VPIA provides intellectual […]
Creating connection with science communication
Before completing her undergraduate studies, Sophie Hartley, a student in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, had an epiphany that was years in the making. “The classes I took in my last undergraduate semester changed my career goals, but it started with my grandfather,” she says when asked about what led her to science writing. She’d […]
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. 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 […]
