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 engineering […]
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, […]
2024 MIT Inclusive Pathways to the PhD Summit Agenda
Agenda for the 2024 MIT Inclusive Pathways to the PhD Summit Agenda details are subject to change. July 30, 2024 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Welcome dinner and networking mixer Location: Row 34 restaurantHosted by Denzil Streete, Senior Associate Dean, Office of Graduate Education July 31, 2024 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: BreakfastLocation: MIT Museum Sharp […]
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 […]
Studying astrophysically relevant plasma physics
Thomas Varnish loves his hobbies — knitting, baking, pottery — it’s a long list. His latest interest is analog film photography. A picture with his mother and another with his boyfriend are just a few of Varnish’s favorites. “These moments of human connection are the ones I like,” he says. Varnish’s love of capturing a […]
Signal processing: How did we get to where we’re going?
On May 24, Ford Professor of Engineering Al Oppenheim addressed a standing-room-only audience at MIT to give the talk of a lifetime. Entitled “Signal Processing: How Did We Get to Where We’re Going?”, Oppenheim’s personal account of his involvement in the early years of the digital signal processing field included a photo retrospective — and […]
Summer 2024 recommended reading from MIT
MIT faculty and staff authors have published a plethora of books, chapters, and other literary contributions in the past year. The following titles represent some of their works published in the past 12 months. Looking for more literary works from the MIT community? Enjoy our book lists from 2023, 2022, and 2021. Happy reading! Novel, […]
The rules of the game
At the core of Raymond Wang’s work lies a seemingly simple question: Can’t we just get along? Wang, a fifth-year political science graduate student, is a native of Hong Kong who witnessed firsthand the shakeup and conflict engendered by China’s takeover of the former British colony. “That type of experience makes you wonder why things […]
Pioneering the future of materials extraction
The next time you cook pasta, imagine that you are cooking spaghetti, rigatoni, and seven other varieties all together, and they need to be separated onto 10 different plates before serving. A colander can remove the water — but you still have a mound of unsorted noodles. Now imagine that this had to be done for […]
Erik Lin-Greenberg
“He has encouraged me when I’ve been struggling; he’s cajoled me when I’ve needed motivation,” praised one of Erik Lin-Greenberg’s nominators. “He’s guided me through the paper publication process and lifted me up as a coauthor.” Lin-Greenberg is the Leo Marx Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. His research examines how […]
Tracy Slatyer
“While professors at MIT are known for being world-class researchers, and many are stellar lecturers, mentors, or great contributors to their community, I can’t say I know many who are all of the above,” begins a nomination letter. “However, Tracy Slatyer is one such professor, and that is why we are nominating them for this […]
“Rollerama” roller rink opens in Kendall Square
The former U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Volpe Center site — now named “Kendall Common” in anticipation of its transformation into a vibrant mixed-use development — is now activated and open to all this summer. “Rollerama at Kendall Common” offers free roller-skating and roller skate rentals, community programming, and family-friendly events through September. “We are extremely excited […]
From group stretches to “Hitting Roman,” MIT Motorsports traditions live on
While siblings Kevin Chan ’17 and rising senior Monica Chan may be seven years apart in age, as Monica Chan puts it, “we’re eight grades apart, so, like, eight life-years apart.” Despite this age gap — Kevin left for college when Monica was in fifth grade — the siblings share remarkably similar experiences and interests. Both led subteams […]
Two MIT films nominated for New England Emmy Awards
Two films produced by MIT were honored with Emmy nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Boston/New England Chapter. Both “We Are the Forest” and “No Drop to Spare” illustrate international conversations the MIT community is having about the environment and climate change. “We Are the Forest,” produced by MIT Video Productions (MVP) […]
“UnrulyArt” creates joy and engagement, regardless of ability
An unmistakable takeaway from sessions of “UnrulyArt” is that all those “-n’ts” — can’t, needn’t, shouldn’t, won’t — which can lead people to exclude children with disabilities or cognitive, social, and behavioral impairments from creative activities, aren’t really rules. They are merely assumptions and stigmas. When a session ends and the paint that was once […]
Go before you’re ready
I like being prepared. It gives me a sense of control which is my shield against anxiety. The first time I visited New York, I read a guide on using the subway system. Before attending a beginner bachata workshop, I watched a tutorial. I believed that with research and practice, I could conquer any challenge. […]
Designing for outer space
A new MIT course this spring asked students to design what humans might need to comfortably work in and inhabit space. The time for these creations is now. While the NASA Apollo missions saw astronauts land on the moon, collect samples, and return home, the missions planned under Artemis, NASA’s current moon exploration program, include […]
Toward socially and environmentally responsible real estate
The MIT student of popular imagination is a Tony Stark or a Riri Williams working in a lab and building the technology of the future. Not necessarily someone studying real estate. Peggy Ghasemlou is doing just that, however, and she’s traveled over thousands of miles and jumped through about as many hoops to do it. A licensed architect in her hometown of Tehran, Iran’s capital, Ghasemlou enrolled at MIT to […]
Interviewing for grad school is a two-way street
One of the most intimidating parts of the PhD application process is choosing a research group to join. It’s a daunting commitment–this group will be your home of sorts for the next five or more years. It’s important to think about this choice as finding a good match, rather than picking the name you think […]
Arvind, longtime MIT professor and prolific computer scientist, dies at 77
Arvind Mithal, the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at MIT, head of the faculty of computer science in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and a pillar of the MIT community, died on June 17. Arvind, who went by the mononym, was 77 years old. A […]
MIT-Takeda Program wraps up with 16 publications, a patent, and nearly two dozen projects completed
When the Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and the MIT School of Engineering launched their collaboration focused on artificial intelligence in health care and drug development in February 2020, society was on the cusp of a globe-altering pandemic and AI was far from the buzzword it is today. As the program concludes, the world looks very different. AI has […]
David Autor named the inaugural Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor in Economics
The Department of Economics has announced David Autor as the inaugural holder of the Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professorship in Economics, effective July 1. The endowed chair is made possible by the generosity of Daniel and Gail Rubinfeld. Daniel Rubinfeld SM ’68, PhD ’72 is the Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law and professor […]
MIT graduate engineering and business programs ranked highly by U.S. News for 2024-25
U.S. News and Word Report has again placed MIT’s graduate program in engineering at the top of its annual rankings, released today. The Institute has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs. The MIT Sloan School of Management also placed highly, in rankings announced April 9. It occupies the […]
Featured video: Researchers discuss queer visibility in academia
“My identity as a scientist and my identity as a gay man are not contradictory, but complimentary,” says Jack Forman, PhD candidate in media arts and sciences and co-lead of LGBTQ+ Grad, a student group run by and for LGBTQ+ grad students and postdocs at MIT. He and co-leads Miranda Dawson and Tunahan Aytas ’23 […]
Asking for help is not weakness
I don’t know if I can do this, I thought. Did I make a mistake? I was in just the second week of the chemical engineering PhD program and my eyes, worn by the glare of my laptop, were struggling to stay open against the sea of notes and colored pens scattered across my kitchen […]
Nancy Kanwisher, Robert Langer, and Sara Seager named Kavli Prize Laureates
MIT faculty members Nancy Kanwisher, Robert Langer, and Sara Seager are among eight researchers worldwide to receive this year’s Kavli Prizes. A partnership among the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation, the Kavli Prizes are awarded every two years to “honor scientists for breakthroughs […]
