A design tool to democratize the art of color-changing mosaics
A colorful new design tool developed by MIT researchers allows individuals to create polarized light mosaics that can be printed on cellophane to make data visualizations, passive light displays, mechanical…Giving refugees design education — and newfound hope
They come by foot and by boat. Desperate, many bring nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They seek asylum and hope. Since 2015, more than a million refugees…Bob Metcalfe ’68 wins $1 million Turing Award
Robert “Bob” Metcalfe ’68, an MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) research affiliate and MIT Corporation life member emeritus, has been awarded the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)…An education in climate change
Several years ago, Christopher Knittel’s father, then a math teacher, shared a mailing he had received at his high school. When he opened the packet, alarm bells went off for…QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 11 subjects for 2023
QS World University Rankings has placed MIT in the No. 1 spot in 11 subject areas for 2023, the organization announced today. The Institute received a No. 1 ranking in…Bob Metcalfe ’69 wins $1 million Turing Award
Robert “Bob” Metcalfe ’69, an MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) research affiliate and MIT Corporation life member emeritus, has been awarded the 2022 Association for Computing Machinery…MIT-led teams win National Science Foundation grants to research sustainable materials
Three MIT-led teams are among 16 nationwide to receive funding awards to address sustainable materials for global challenges through the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator program. Launched in 2019, the…MIT’s Barry Duncan demonstrates the power of writing in reverse
Words have always played a central role in Barry Duncan’s life. He’s worked in bookstores for more than 40 years, reads often, and has tried his hand at writing novels,…Detailed images from space offer clearer picture of drought effects on plants
“MIT is a place where dreams come true,” says César Terrer, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Here at MIT, Terrer says he’s given the…Designing for better lives
Even though Flavio Emilio Vila Skrzypek left his native country of Peru to study at MIT, you can tell immediately that his homeland is close to his heart. Vila, who…MIT affiliates honored with 2023 Optica awards and medals
MIT Professor Marin Soljačić and four additional MIT alumni — Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato PhD ’87, Turan Erdogan ’87, Harold Metcalf ’62, and Andrew Weiner ’79, SM ’81, ScD ’84 —…3 Questions: John Dozier on Dialogues Across Difference
MIT’s new series “Dialogues Across Difference” will bring speakers to campus and create opportunities for community members to demonstrate practical ways to take on difficult subjects across differences of opinion,…Peter Baddoo, Department of Mathematics instructor, dies at 29
Peter Baddoo, an instructor in the Department of Mathematics, passed away suddenly on Feb. 15 while playing basketball on campus. Baddoo joined the MIT Department of Mathematics in January 2021.…Tom Wolf PhD ’81 receives the 2023 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award
The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) has announced that former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf PhD ’81 has been recognized with the 2023 Robert A. Muh Alumni…Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots
When astronauts begin to build a permanent base on the moon, as NASA plans to do in the coming years, they’ll need help. Robots could potentially do the heavy lifting…It’s a weird, weird quantum world
In 1994, as Professor Peter Shor PhD ’85 tells it, internal seminars at AT&T Bell Labs were lively affairs. The audience of physicists was an active and inquisitive bunch, often…MIT professor to Congress: “We are at an inflection point” with AI
Government should not “abdicate” its responsibilities and leave the future path of artificial intelligence solely to Big Tech, Aleksander Mądry, the Cadence Design Systems Professor of Computing at MIT and…2023 MacVicar Faculty Fellows named
The Office of the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar’s Office have announced this year’s Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of brain and cognitive sciences John Gabrieli, associate professor of literature…Working to make nuclear energy more competitive
Assil Halimi has loved science since he was a child, but it was a singular experience at a college internship that stoked his interest in nuclear engineering. As part of…MIT Cheney Room reopens with fresh and enhanced programming
The Margaret Cheney Room celebrated its reopening last month after significant updates and remodeling over the last several months. The celebration was led by Lauryn McNair, assistant dean of LBGTQ+,…3 Questions: Antje Danielson on energy education and its role in climate action
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) leads energy education at MIT, developing and implementing a robust educational toolkit for MIT graduate and undergraduate students, online learners around the world, and high…Daniel Hastings named American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics president-elect
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced Wednesday that MIT professor Daniel Hastings has been elected president-elect of the organization. Hastings, the associate dean of engineering for diversity,…Assessing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after a year of war
Ukraine has been withstanding Russia’s invasion for slightly more than a year. One element of this resistance has been the military aid many allies have provided Ukraine. But surely the…Creating the steps to make organizational sustainability work
Sustainability is a hot topic. Companies throw around their carbon or recycling initiatives, and competing executives feel the need to follow suit. But aside from the external pressure, there are…QuARC 2023 explores the leading edge in quantum information and science
The second QSEC Annual Research Conference (QuARC) brought together MIT student and postdoctoral researchers, staff, faculty, and industry partners for a two-day exploration of the leading edge in quantum information…Remembering Professor Emeritus Edgar Schein, an influential leader in management
Edgar H. Schein, a social psychologist who bridged the academic and pragmatic sides of culture and organization by practicing his own tenets on humble leadership and inquiry, died Jan. 26.…Thirty-two exceptional MIT students selected as 2023 Burchard Scholars
The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (MIT SHASS) is pleased to announce that 32 MIT undergraduate sophomores and juniors have been named as the 2023 Burchard Scholars.Integrating humans with AI in structural design
Modern fabrication tools such as 3D printers can make structural materials in shapes that would have been difficult or impossible using conventional tools. Meanwhile, new generative design systems can take…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…Q&A: Tod Machover on “Overstory Overture,” his new operatic work
Machover’s work, “Overstory Overture,” a 35-minute piece commissioned and performed by the chamber ensemble Sejong Soloists, has come to fruition and will have its world premiere on March 7 in…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…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…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…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…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…