Re-imagining the opera of the future
In the mid-1980s, composer Tod Machover came across a copy of Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novel “VALIS” in a Parisian bookstore. Based on a mystical vision Dick called his…MIT welcomes nine MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars for 2023-24
Established in 1990, the MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program at MIT welcomes outstanding scholars to the Institute for visiting appointments. MIT aspires to attract candidates who are, in the…Five MIT faculty members named 2023 Simons Investigators
Five MIT professors have been selected to receive the 2023 Simons Investigators awards from the Simons Foundation. Virginia Vassilevska Williams and Vinod Vaikuntanathan are both professors in MIT’s Department of…3 Questions: A new PhD program from the Center for Computational Science and Engineering
This fall, the Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), an academic unit in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, is introducing a new standalone PhD degree program that will…School of Science welcomes new faculty in 2023
Last spring, the School of Science welcomed seven new faculty members. Erin Chen PhD ’11 studies the communication between microbes that reside on the surface of the human body and…Nicole Wilson: The politics of a shifting middle class in Nigeria
Before her time at MIT, Nicole Wilson worked as a research assistant for two graduate students studying informal trade in Lagos, Nigeria. She was quickly captivated by the nation’s vibrant…On the hunt for sustainable materials
By the time she started high school, Avni Singhal had attended six different schools in a variety of settings, from a traditional public school to a self-paced program. The transitions…James Fujimoto, Eric Swanson, and David Huang win Lasker Award
The Lasker Foundation has named James Fujimoto ’79, SM ’81, PhD ’84, the Elihu Thomson Professor in Electrical Engineering and principal investigator in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), a…School of Engineering welcomes Songyee Yoon PhD ’00 as visiting innovation scholar
Songyee Yoon PhD ’00, an entrepreneur, innovator, investor, and leader in AI and the gaming industry, has been appointed as a School of Engineering visiting innovation scholar for the 2023-24…Bringing design justice to the classroom and workplace
Whether you’re building a home or programming a robot, design is a human-centered activity, making it essential to teach design in a way that focuses on equity, justice, and ethics.…2023-2024 Accenture Fellows advance technology at the crossroads of business and society
The MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative for Industry and Technology has selected five new research fellows for 2023-24. Now in its third year, the initiative underscores the ways in which…Mariama N’Diaye’s design-led approach to governance
Mariama N’Diaye, a design fellow at the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD), works to transform the public sector through design thinking and innovation. With a diverse background in urban…MIT scholars awarded seed grants to probe the social implications of generative AI
In July, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Provost Cynthia Barnhart issued a call for papers to “articulate effective roadmaps, policy recommendations, and calls for action across the broad domain of…Mechanical engineering with a twist: Pursuing a passion for robotics with customized major
A photo of students in colorful hardhats running across Killian Court is what first drew Sharmi Shah ’23 to the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), but a desire to make…Mikhail Ivanov wins 2024 New Horizons in Physics Breakthrough Prize
Assistant professor of physics Mikhail Ivanov will receive the 2024 New Horizons in Physics Prize, which he will share with Marko Simonović from the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)…MIT.nano Family Day invites those at home to come to work
Every day, researchers come to MIT.nano to investigate at the nanoscale, but what’s it like to work there? On Aug. 21, MIT.nano staff invited their family members to come see…MIT named No. 2 university by U.S. News for 2023-24
MIT has placed second in U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best colleges and universities, announced today. As in past years, MIT’s engineering program continues to…AI-driven tool makes it easy to personalize 3D-printable models
As 3D printers have become cheaper and more widely accessible, a rapidly growing community of novice makers are fabricating their own objects. To do this, many of these amateur artisans…MIT Sloan Dean Emeritus Bill Pounds, an expert in corporate governance and operations management, dies at 95
William Pounds, a former dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management who was known for his ubiquitous presence around campus and mentorship of junior faculty members, and for advising…Desirée Plata appointed co-director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium
Desirée Plata, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT, has been named co-director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC), effective Sept. 1. Plata will serve on…A. Michael West: Advancing human-robot interactions in health care
An accomplished MIT student researcher in health care robotics, with many scholarship and fellowship awards to his name, A. Michael West is nonchalant about how he chose his path. “I…Startups generate inspiration and applause at Demo Day 2024
Anyone trying to get a feel for MIT’s culture of entrepreneurship would do well to start their journey at the delta v summer accelerator’s Demo Day. For two whirlwind hours…Expanding higher education for incarcerated students
Since its inception in 2018, The Educational Justice Institute (TEJI) has been a trailblazer in implementing innovative and transformative educational experiences for incarcerated students as well as students at universities,…Making life friendlier with personal robots
“As a child, I wished for a robot that would explain others’ emotions to me” says Sharifa Alghowinem, a research scientist in the Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group (PRG). Growing…Jackson Jewett wants to design buildings that use less concrete
After three years leading biking tours through U.S. National Parks, Jackson Jewett decided it was time for a change. “It was a lot of fun, but I realized I missed…School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes 10 new faculty
Dean Agustín Rayo and the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences recently welcomed 10 new professors to the MIT community. They arrive with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in…Elsa Olivetti appointed associate dean of engineering
Elsa Olivetti, the Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor in Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been appointed as associate dean of engineering, effective Sept. 1. As associate…Kimberly Rose Bennett awarded HHMI Gilliam Fellowship
Kimberly Rose Bennett, a PhD candidate in the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program within the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST), has been selected by the Howard…Apekshya Prasai: Up in arms
Although women’s wartime roles and agency tend to be neglected in conventional discourses on conflict, there are times when women not only take up arms but also shape the practices…Ms. Nuclear Energy is winning over nuclear skeptics
First-year MIT nuclear science and engineering (NSE) doctoral student Kaylee Cunningham is not the first person to notice that nuclear energy has a public relations problem. But her commitment to…Denzil Streete named senior associate dean and director of the Office of Graduate Education
After a national search, the MIT Office of the Vice Chancellor has named Denzil A. Streete senior associate dean and director of the Office of Graduate Education (OGE). Streete succeeds…Q&A: Three Tata Fellows on the program’s impact on themselves and the world
The Tata Fellowship at MIT gives graduate students the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research and work with real-world applications in developing countries. Part of the MIT Tata Center for Technology…Dyanna Jaye: Bringing the urgency of organizing to climate policy
Growing up in the Tidewater region of Virginia, Dyanna Jaye had a front row seat to the climate crisis. She recalls beach stabilization efforts that pumped sand from the bottom…Making aviation fuel from biomass
In 2021, nearly a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions came from the transportation sector, with aviation being a significant contributor. While the growing use of electric vehicles is…MIT engineers use kirigami to make ultrastrong, lightweight structures
Cellular solids are materials composed of many cells that have been packed together, such as a honeycomb. The shape of those cells largely determines the material’s mechanical properties, including its…