Transforming fusion from a scientific curiosity into a powerful clean energy source
If you’re looking for hard problems, building a nuclear fusion power plant is a pretty good place to start. Fusion — the process that powers the sun — has proven…Daniela Rus wins John Scott Award
Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was recently named a co-recipient of the 2024 John Scott…Introducing MIT HEALS, a life sciences initiative to address pressing health challenges
At MIT, collaboration between researchers working in the life sciences and engineering is a frequent occurrence. Under a new initiative launched last week, the Institute plans to strengthen and expand those…Want to design the car of the future? Here are 8,000 designs to get you started.
Car design is an iterative and proprietary process. Carmakers can spend several years on the design phase for a car, tweaking 3D forms in simulations before building out the most…MIT delegation mainstreams biodiversity conservation at the UN Biodiversity Convention, COP16
For the first time, MIT sent an organized engagement to the global Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity, which this year was held Oct. 21 to…A new way to create realistic 3D shapes using generative AI
Creating realistic 3D models for applications like virtual reality, filmmaking, and engineering design can be a cumbersome process requiring lots of manual trial and error. While generative artificial intelligence models…From refugee to MIT graduate student
Mlen-Too Wesley has faded memories of his early childhood in Liberia, but the sharpest one has shaped his life. Wesley was 4 years old when he and his family boarded…A data designer driven to collaborate with communities
It is fairly common in public discourse for someone to announce, “I brought data to this discussion,” thus casting their own conclusions as empirical and rational. It is less common…MIT’s Science Policy Initiative holds 14th annual Executive Visit Days
From Oct. 21 to 22, a delegation of 21 MIT students and one postdoc met in Washington for the 14th Executive Visit Days (ExVD). Organized by the MIT Science Policy Initiative…Troy Van Voorhis to step down as department head of chemistry
Troy Van Voorhis, the Robert T. Haslam and Bradley Dewey Professor of Chemistry, will step down as department head of the Department of Chemistry at the end of this academic…Improving health, one machine learning system at a time
Captivated as a child by video games and puzzles, Marzyeh Ghassemi was also fascinated at an early age in health. Luckily, she found a path where she could combine the two…To design better water filters, MIT engineers look to manta rays
Filter feeders are everywhere in the animal world, from tiny crustaceans and certain types of coral and krill, to various molluscs, barnacles, and even massive basking sharks and baleen whales.…Professor Emeritus James Harris, a scholar of Spanish language, dies at 92
James Wesley “Jim” Harris PhD ’67, professor emeritus of Spanish and linguistics, passed away on Nov. 10. He was 92. Harris attended the University of Georgia, the Instituto Tecnológico de…New solar projects will grow renewable energy generation for four major campus buildings
In the latest step to implement commitments made in MIT’s Fast Forward climate action plan, staff from the Department of Facilities; Office of Sustainability; and Environment, Health and Safety Office…A vision for U.S. science success
White House science advisor Arati Prabhakar expressed confidence in U.S. science and technology capacities during a talk on Wednesday about major issues the country must tackle. “Let me start with…Catherine Wolfram: High-energy scholar
In the mid 2000s, Catherine Wolfram PhD ’96 reached what she calls “an inflection point” in her career. After about a decade of studying U.S. electricity markets, she had come…A model of virtuosity
A crowd gathered at the MIT Media Lab in September for a concert by musician Jordan Rudess and two collaborators. One of them, violinist and vocalist Camilla Bäckman, has performed…Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang wins 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition
Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang, a doctoral candidate in the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, recently won the 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition, medaling in both the Graduate and People’s Choice categories for…Dancing with currents and waves in the Maldives
Any child who’s spent a morning building sandcastles only to watch the afternoon tide ruin them in minutes knows the ocean always wins. Yet, coastal protection strategies have historically focused…School of Engineering faculty receive awards in summer 2024
Faculty and researchers receive many external awards throughout the year. The MIT School of Engineering periodically highlights the honors, prizes, and medals won by community members working in academic departments,…Stopping the bomb
“The question behind my doctoral research is simple,” says Kunal Singh, an MIT political science graduate student in his final year of studies. “When one country learns that another country…Samurai in Japan, then engineers at MIT
In 1867, five Japanese students took a long sea voyage to Massachusetts for some advanced schooling. The group included a 13-year-old named Eiichirō Honma, who was from one of the samurai…Graph-based AI model maps the future of innovation
Imagine using artificial intelligence to compare two seemingly unrelated creations — biological tissue and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9.” At first glance, a living system and a musical masterpiece might appear…Faces of MIT: Gene Keselman
Gene Keselman wears a lot of hats. He is a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the executive director of Mission Innovation Experimental (MIx), and managing director of…Bridging military service and engineering
For graduate students Kelsey Pittman and Jacqueline Orr, service in the U.S. military led to their interest in engineering, and to the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).…A new focus on understanding the human element
A new MIT initiative aims to elevate human-centered research and teaching, and bring together scholars in the humanities, arts, and social sciences with their colleagues across the Institute. The MIT Human…Bridging Talents and Opportunities Forum connects high school and college students with STEAM leaders and resources
Bridging Talents and Opportunities (BTO) held its second annual forum at the Stratton Student Center at MIT Oct. 11-12. The two-day event gathered over 500 participants, including high school students…2024 Math Prize for Girls at MIT sees six-way tie
After 274 young women spent two-and-a-half hours working through 20 advanced math problems for the 16th annual Advantage Testing Foundation/Jane Street Math Prize for Girls (MP4G) contest held Oct. 4-6 at…Rallying around graduate student parents
Last month, the MIT Office of Graduate Education celebrated National Student Parent Month with features on four MIT graduate student parents. These students’ professional backgrounds, experiences, and years at MIT…MIT affiliates receive 2024-25 awards and honors from the American Physical Society
A number of individuals with MIT ties have received honors from the American Physical Society (APS) for 2024 and 2025. Awardees include Professor Frances Ross; Professor Vladan Vuletić, graduate student Jiliang Hu ’19, PhD…Brains, fashion, alien life, and more: Highlights from the Cambridge Science Festival
What is it like to give birth on Mars? Can bioengineer TikTok stars win at the video game “Super Smash Brothers” while also answering questions about science? How do sheep,…Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions
When you think about hands-free devices, you might picture Alexa and other voice-activated in-home assistants, Bluetooth earpieces, or asking Siri to make a phone call in your car. You might…25 Years of MIT Presidential Fellows
On October 15, 2024, the Office of Graduate Education and Chancellor Melissa Nobles hosted the 25th Presidential Fellows Reception. MIT established this prestigious program of Presidential Fellowships to recruit the…New internal website: GradCentral
In response to administrator feedback, we are making strides to centralize important information for administrators and faculty supporting graduate students. To accomplish that goal, the OGE has built a new…Misinformation is all around. How can we combat it?
Political misinformation is a hard problem. False statements pervade contemporary politics, sowing division and distrust, and making it harder for society to operate on the basis of fact and law.…