Tag: Interview

Student spotlight: Victory Yinka-Banjo

This interview is part of a series from the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science featuring students answering questions about themselves and life at the Institute. Today’s interviewee, Victory Yinka-Banjo, is a junior majoring in MIT Course 6-7: Computer Science and Molecular Biology. Yinka-Banjo keeps a packed schedule: She is a member of […]

Read More

Student spotlight: Victory Yinka-Banjo

This interview is part of a series from the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science featuring students answering questions about themselves and life at the Institute. Today’s interviewee, Victory Yinka-Banjo, is a junior majoring in MIT Course 6-7: Computer Science and Molecular Biology. Yinka-Banjo keeps a packed schedule: She is a member of […]

Read More

3 Questions: Progress on updating MIT’s undergraduate curriculum

In late February, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education Ian A. Waitz and Faculty Chair Mary Fuller announced the formation and launch of the Task Force on the MIT Undergraduate Academic Program (TFUAP). The effort fulfills a critical recommendation of the Task Force 2021 and Beyond RIC1 (Undergraduate Program) and draws upon several, prior […]

Read More

3 Questions: What you need to know about audio deepfakes

Audio deepfakes have had a recent bout of bad press after an artificial intelligence-generated robocall purporting to be the voice of Joe Biden hit up New Hampshire residents, urging them not to cast ballots. Meanwhile, spear-phishers — phishing campaigns that target a specific person or group, especially using information known to be of interest to […]

Read More

3 Questions: Shaping the future of work in an age of AI

The MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative, co-directed by MIT professors Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson, celebrated its official launch on Jan. 22. The new initiative’s mission is to analyze the forces that are eroding job quality and labor market opportunities for non-college workers and identify innovative ways to move the economy […]

Read More

Faces of MIT: Lydia Brosnahan

A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into creating an art installation or a theater production – not just by those making or performing their craft, but also by the staff members who coordinate the logistics of exhibits and events. One of the people at MIT who helps artists bring their projects to life is Lydia […]

Read More

3 Questions: Why study theater in a German language class?

Emily Goodling is a lecturer in German in Global Languages at MIT. She teaches class 21G.411 (Conflict, Contest, Controversy: A Literary Investigation of German Politics), a course that she developed with the help of an MIT Global Languages Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (CLTL) Innovation in Language Pedagogy grant in summer 2023. With the […]

Read More

3 Questions: Paloma Duong on the complexities of Cuban culture

As a state run by a Communist Party, Cuba appears set apart from many of its neighbors in the Americas. One thing lost as a result, to a large extent, is a nuanced understanding of the perspectives of Cuban citizens. MIT’s Paloma Duong, an associate professor in the program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing, has helped […]

Read More

MIT junior Justin Yu crashes “Tetris,” with thanks to the game’s recent “space race”

Fans of classic “Tetris” have a lot to celebrate at the moment: On Dec. 21, 2023, player Willis Gibson (who plays under the handle BlueScuti) advanced so far into a game of “Tetris” that the game froze: a new achievement in the classic game, which is played on a Nintendo Entertainment System console. Gibson’s win […]

Read More

Even the Kremlin Is Fact-Checking Tucker Carlson Ahead of Putin Interview

Screengrab via @TuckerCarlson on X Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is hyping up an interview with Vladimir Putin, which will be the first one-on-one interview the Russian president has given a Western journalist since his country invaded Ukraine in 2022. In the lead-up to the interview, there has been such a surge in misinformation […]

Read More

3 Questions: What can graduate students expect from MIT’s newest grad housing option?

In October 2017, MIT made a commitment to add 950 on-campus beds for graduate students as part of the Volpe zoning agreement with the City of Cambridge that allows the Institute to develop a 10-acre parcel in Kendall Square. Since then, MIT opened the Graduate Tower at Site 4 residential community in Kendall Square with […]

Read More

Q&A: What sets the recent Japan earthquake apart from others?

On Jan. 1, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the western side of Japan on the Noto Peninsula, killing over 200 people. Japan is prone to earthquakes, including a magnitude 9.1 earthquake in 2011 that triggered a tsunami and killed almost 20,000 people. William Frank, the Victor P. Starr Career Development Professor in the Department of […]

Read More

Q&A: A blueprint for sustainable innovation

Atacama Biomaterials is a startup combining architecture, machine learning, and chemical engineering to create eco-friendly materials with multiple applications. Passionate about sustainable innovation, its co-founder Paloma Gonzalez-Rojas SM ’15, PhD ’21 highlights here how MIT has supported the project through several of its entrepreneurship initiatives, and reflects on the role of design in building a holistic […]

Read More

3 Questions: Renaud Fournier on transforming MIT’s digital landscape

Renaud Fournier SM ’95 joined the Institute in September 2023 in the newly established role of chief officer for business and digital transformation and is leading a team focused on simplifying business operations and systems for the MIT community. Fournier has extensive experience implementing systems and solving data challenges, both in higher education and the […]

Read More

3 Questions: Implementing the MIT Graduate Student Union’s collective bargaining agreement

When eligible MIT graduate students voted to be represented by a union in April 2022, the decision set in motion significant changes in the graduate student ecosystem at the Institute. Moving forward, graduate students in the Graduate Student Union (GSU)’s bargaining unit — about 3,500 research assistants, teaching assistants, and instructors-G — will be represented […]

Read More

3 Questions: A new home for music at MIT

More than 1,500 students enroll in music classes each year at MIT. More than 500 student musicians participate in one of 30 on-campus ensembles. In spring 2025, to better provide for its thriving musical program, MIT will inaugurate its new music building, a 35,000-square-foot three-volume facility adjacent to Kresge Auditorium. The new building will feature […]

Read More

Black Twitter, Black Hollywood Reacts to Jaw-Dropping Katt Williams Interview with Shannon Sharpe

24 hours since Katt William’s explosive interview on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast set the social media streets on fire on Wednesday, reactions have been pouring in at monumental levels. The Roots’ Black Thought On Befriending Questlove & Classmates Boyz II Men & Others In New Memoir Off English If you’ve somehow missed the […]

Read More

3 Questions: Darrell Irvine on making HIV vaccines more powerful

An MIT research team led by Professor Darrell Irvine has developed a novel kind of vaccine adjuvant: a nanoparticle that can help to stimulate the immune system to generate a stronger response to a vaccine. These nanoparticles contain saponin, a compound derived from the bark of the Chilean soapbark tree, along with a molecule called […]

Read More

3 Questions: Melissa Nobles on combating antisemitism and Islamophobia

On Nov. 14, President Sally Kornbluth launched Standing Together Against Hate (STAH), a community-driven initiative coordinated by Chancellor Melissa Nobles. The initiative will support efforts led by MIT faculty, staff, students, and the administration to come together, MIT-style, to use our problem-solving skills to address antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate. Chancellor Nobles spoke […]

Read More

3 Questions: Laura Beretsky on living and learning with epilepsy

Do you have a disability? It’s a question every employer is required to ask job applicants. Some people quickly check a box and move on. For Laura Beretsky, deciding how to answer the question is more complicated. Beretsky, who works as a grant writer in the MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering, and Science (MITES) program, […]

Read More

3 Questions: Wiebke Denecke on a landmark project for Chinese literature

Nuns writing fine poetry. Centuries-old joke books. An epic travelogue ending with a visit to Genghis Khan. These are just a few things readers can experience through the new Hsu-Tang Library of Classical Chinese Literature, published by Oxford University Press. The series is modeled on the Loeb Classical Library, which debuted in 1912 and features […]

Read More

Q&A: Phillip Sharp and Amy Brand on the future of open-access publishing

Providing open access to scholarly publications is a long-running issue with new developments on the horizon. Last year, the U.S. federal government’s Office of Science and Technology Policy mandated that starting in 2026 publishers must provide open access to publications stemming from federal funding. That provides more impetus for the open-access movement in academia. Meanwhile, […]

Read More

Liberty Ladd: Going above and beyond

Liberty Ladd has been drawn to public service and fighting injustice from a young age. At 15, as a student representative from the first congressional district of Maine, she testified to the state board of education about unfair grading policies at her school. Later, she decided to join the Air Force, with the understanding that […]

Read More

3 Questions: A roadmap toward circularity in the footwear industry

In March 2022, representatives of global footwear brands gathered with sustainability experts and other academic researchers on the MIT campus. The mission? To kick-start a discussion on addressing the waste produced by the footwear industry. An MIT research project arising from the Circular Shoe Systems Summit has now resulted in a white paper titled the […]

Read More

MIT’s Justin Yu wins Classic Tetris World Championship

If you have 59 seconds to devote to pure joy, you won’t regret watching this video clip of Justin “Fractal” Yu, an MIT junior who, on Oct. 15, became the top classic Tetris player in the world by winning the 2023 Classic Tetris World Championships. The computer science and engineering major from Dallas, Texas, plans […]

Read More

Q&A: Magnifying research impact with policymakers

The MIT Policy Lab at the Center for International Studies works with researchers across the Institute to develop and enhance connections between the worlds of academia and public policy. Led by Associate Professor Chappell Lawson, who serves as faculty director, and Drew Story, who serves as managing director, the MIT Policy Lab has supported over […]

Read More

Controversial game designer Peter Molyneux wants to prove that not ‘everything I say is a promise that’s going to be broken’

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Peter Molyneux, the mind behind the original Fable and Theme Park games, whose experiments with blockchain games and other shortcomings around promises made have seen his reputation take a few hits over the years. Perhaps worst of all, this is the man that promised us acorns that […]

Read More

3 Questions: What should scientists and the public know about nuclear waste?

Many researchers see an expansion of nuclear power, which produces no greenhouse gas emissions from its power generation, as an essential component of strategies to combat global climate change. Yet there is still strong resistance to such expansion, and much of that is based on the issue of how to safely dispose of the resulting […]

Read More

Q&A: The BRICS expansion and the global balance of power

In early September, the BRICS group of countries with emerging economies — an informal alliance among Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — announced it would expand its ranks by six nations. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE are now set to join the BRICS group in the near future. This would […]

Read More

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 enable students to pursue research in cross-cutting methodological aspects of computational science and engineering. The launch follows approval of the center’s degree program proposal at […]

Read More