On April 18, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidance on airborne disease transmission that seeks to create a consensus around the terminology used to describe the transmission of infectious pathogens through the air. Lydia Bourouiba, the director of the MIT Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory and the Fluids and Health Network, an […]
Read More
Two teams led by MIT researchers were selected in December 2023 by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator, a part of the TIP Directorate, to receive awards of $5 million each over three years, to pursue research aimed at helping to bring cutting-edge new sustainable materials and processes from the lab into practical, full-scale […]
Read More
Several years ago, a team of scientists from MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell designed and deployed a first-of-its-kind web programming course for incarcerated individuals across multiple correctional facilities. The program, Brave Behind Bars, uses virtual classroom technology to deliver web design training to students behind prison walls. The program brought together men […]
Read More
MIT Provost Cynthia Barnhart announced four Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grants to support bold research projects across diverse areas of study, including a way to generate clean hydrogen from deep in the Earth, build an environmentally friendly house of basalt, design maternity clothing that monitors fetal health, and recruit sharks as ocean oxygen monitors. […]
Read More
Giving drugs at different times of day could significantly affect how they are metabolized in the liver, according to a new study from MIT. Using tiny, engineered livers derived from cells from human donors, the researchers found that many genes involved in drug metabolism are under circadian control. These circadian variations affect how much of […]
Read More
In a letter to the MIT community today, President Sally Kornbluth announced the appointment of Ian A. Waitz to the position of vice president for research. In the role, Waitz will report to the president and oversee MIT’s vast research enterprise. The appointment is effective May 1. Waitz, who is also the Jerome C. Hunsaker […]
Read More
When cancer patients undergo chemotherapy, the dose of most drugs is calculated based on the patient’s body surface area. This is estimated by plugging the patient’s height and weight into an equation, dating to 1916, that was formulated from data on just nine patients. This simplistic dosing doesn’t take into account other factors and can […]
Read More
Entanglement is a form of correlation between quantum objects, such as particles at the atomic scale. This uniquely quantum phenomenon cannot be explained by the laws of classical physics, yet it is one of the properties that explains the macroscopic behavior of quantum systems. Because entanglement is central to the way quantum systems work, understanding […]
Read More
For nearly a decade, a team of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers have been seeking to uncover why certain images persist in a people’s minds, while many others fade. To do this, they set out to map the spatio-temporal brain dynamics involved in recognizing a visual image. And now for the […]
Read More
MIT Professor Emeritus Bernhardt Wuensch ’55, SM ’57, PhD ’63, a crystallographer and beloved teacher whose warmth and dedication to ensuring his students mastered the complexities of a precise science matched the analytical rigor he applied to the study of crystals, died this month in Concord, Massachusetts. He was 90. Remembered fondly for his fastidious […]
Read More
It’s the most fundamental of processes — the evaporation of water from the surfaces of oceans and lakes, the burning off of fog in the morning sun, and the drying of briny ponds that leaves solid salt behind. Evaporation is all around us, and humans have been observing it and making use of it for […]
Read More
Health-monitoring apps can help people manage chronic diseases or stay on track with fitness goals, using nothing more than a smartphone. However, these apps can be slow and energy-inefficient because the vast machine-learning models that power them must be shuttled between a smartphone and a central memory server. Engineers often speed things up using hardware […]
Read More
Growing up in Colorado Springs, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Mikayla Britsch was encouraged to care deeply about the area’s natural resources and the people who lived there. She followed the news from a young age, as did her parents, who were vocal about current events and worked in “people-centric” positions that served […]
Read More
The MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) has announced Erin Bahm and Steven Parks as recipients of the UPS Fellowship for the 2024–25 academic year. Made possible by a grant from the UPS Foundation, the UPS Fellowship awards financial support to two outstanding students each year, one incoming MIT master’s student and one MIT doctoral […]
Read More
In the halls of MIT, a distinctive thread of compassion weaves through the fabric of education. As students adjust to a postpandemic normal, many professors have played a pivotal role by helping them navigate the realities of hybrid learning and a rapidly changing postgraduation landscape. The Committed to Caring (C2C) program at MIT is a […]
Read More
Methane traps much more heat per pound than carbon dioxide, making it a powerful contributor to climate change. “In fact, methane emission removal is the fastest way that we can ensure immediate results for reduced global warming,” says Audrey Parker, a graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Parker and other researchers […]
Read More
To build AI systems that can collaborate effectively with humans, it helps to have a good model of human behavior to start with. But humans tend to behave suboptimally when making decisions. This irrationality, which is especially difficult to model, often boils down to computational constraints. A human can’t spend decades thinking about the ideal […]
Read More
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, aquaculture in the United States represents a $1.5 billion industry annually. Like land-based farming, shellfish aquaculture requires healthy seed production in order to maintain a sustainable industry. Aquaculture hatchery production of shellfish larvae — seeds — requires close monitoring to track mortality rates and assess health from the earliest […]
Read More
Lauren Aguilar knew she wanted to study energy systems at MIT, but before Course 1-12 (Climate System Science and Engineering) became a new undergraduate major, she didn’t see an obvious path to study the systems aspects of energy, policy, and climate associated with the energy transition. Aguilar was drawn to the new major that was […]
Read More
If you’re a resident of Hull, Lynn, Salem, or other Massachusetts towns currently exposed to noise from aircraft approaching Boston Logan Airport, you may notice the skies getting a little quieter this year. Over the last decade, improvements to aircraft navigation technology have allowed departing and arriving aircraft to follow highly precise routes in the […]
Read More
Four MIT faculty members have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The 2023 class of AAAS Fellows includes 502 scientists, engineers, and innovators across 24 scientific disciplines, who are being recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. Bevin Engelward initiated her scientific journey at Yale University […]
Read More
Have you ever felt reluctant to share ideas during a meeting because you feared judgment from senior colleagues? You’re not alone. Research has shown this pervasive issue can lead to a lack of diversity in public discourse, especially when junior members of a community don’t speak up because they feel intimidated. Anonymous communication can alleviate […]
Read More
Using a pair of sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have discovered signals that reveal when plans are experiencing stresses such as heat, light, or attack from insects or bacteria. The sensors detect two signaling molecules that plants use to coordinate their response to […]
Read More
Across the country, hundreds of thousands of drivers deliver packages and parcels to customers and companies each day, with many click-to-door times averaging only a few days. Coordinating a supply chain feat of this magnitude in a predictable and timely way is a longstanding problem of operations research, where researchers have been working to optimize […]
Read More
When MIT professor and now Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) member Peter Shor first demonstrated the potential of quantum computers to solve problems faster than classical ones, he inspired scientists to imagine countless possibilities for the emerging technology. Thirty years later, though, the quantum edge remains a peak not yet reached. Unfortunately, the […]
Read More
What better way to commemorate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day than to give three of the world’s most accomplished scientists an opportunity to talk about their careers? On March 7, MindHandHeart invited professors Paula Hammond, Ann Graybiel, and Sangeeta Bhatia to share their career journeys, from the progress they have witnessed to the […]
Read More
To save on fuel and reduce aircraft emissions, engineers are looking to build lighter, stronger airplanes out of advanced composites. These engineered materials are made from high-performance fibers that are embedded in polymer sheets. The sheets can be stacked and pressed into one multilayered material and made into extremely lightweight and durable structures. But composite […]
Read More
Watching her uncle play a video game when she was a small child started Shaniel Bowen on her path to becoming a biomedical engineer. The game, “Metal Gear Solid 2,” introduced her to exoskeletons, wearable devices that enhance physical abilities. “The game piqued my interest when it started showing and discussing exoskeletons,” Bowen says. “I […]
Read More
In an era defined by unprecedented challenges and opportunities, MIT remains at the forefront of pioneering research and innovation. The Institute’s relentless pursuit of knowledge has once again been recognized, with MIT securing 343 utility patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2023. This marks the 10th consecutive year that the […]
Read More
The radiation detectors used today for applications like inspecting cargo ships for smuggled nuclear materials are expensive and cannot operate in harsh environments, among other disadvantages. Now, in work funded largely by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with early support from the U.S. Department of Energy, MIT engineers have demonstrated a fundamentally new way […]
Read More
On Vassar Street, in the heart of MIT’s campus, the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing recently opened the doors to its new headquarters in Building 45. The building’s central location and welcoming design will help form a new cluster of connectivity at MIT and enable the space to have a multifaceted role. “The […]
Read More