Three Spanish MIT postdocs, Luis Antonio Benítez, Carolina Cuesta-Lazaro, and Fernando Romero López, were chosen by the Department of Physics as the first cohort of Mauricio and Carlota Botton Foundation Fellows. This year’s recipients are provided with a one-year stipend and a research fund to pursue their research interests; they will visit the Botton Foundation […]
Read MoreTag: School of Science
Inaugural symposium draws diverse science, underrepresented voices to MIT
The MIT biology community recently welcomed eight postdocs — Catalyst Fellows — to campus as part of the inaugural Catalyst Symposium. Catalysts speed up reactions, and the symposium aims to accelerate progress in inclusive diversity — not just at MIT, but at top research institutions across the country, according to Professor Amy Keating, head of the Department […]
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Q&A: Are far-reaching fires the new normal?
Where there’s smoke, there is fire. But with climate change, larger and longer-burning wildfires are sending smoke farther from their source, often to places that are unaccustomed to the exposure. That’s been the case this week, as smoke continues to drift south from massive wildfires in Canada, prompting warnings of hazardous air quality, and poor […]
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Bringing the social and ethical responsibilities of computing to the forefront
There has been a remarkable surge in the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to address a wide range of problems and challenges. While their adoption, particularly with the rise of AI, is reshaping nearly every industry sector, discipline, and area of research, such innovations often expose unexpected consequences that involve new norms, new expectations, […]
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New model offers a way to speed up drug discovery
Huge libraries of drug compounds may hold potential treatments for a variety of diseases, such as cancer or heart disease. Ideally, scientists would like to experimentally test each of these compounds against all possible targets, but doing that kind of screen is prohibitively time-consuming. In recent years, researchers have begun using computational methods to screen […]
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From labs to the streets, experts work to defuse childhood threats to mental health
Threats to lifelong mental health can arise for young children from sources including poverty, abuse or neglect at home, and racism, inequity, and pollution outside their doors, but the hopeful message that a range of experts brought to MIT on May 11 was that amid these many risks, approaches to provide effective protections and remedies […]
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Meet the tight-knit technical staff who help MIT.nano handle any challenge
When MIT.nano opened in 2018 in Building 12, now the Lisa T. Su Building, it became the new home at MIT for suites of nanoscale characterization and fabrication equipment, including those previously housed in Building 39. And when a core team of people moved along with these tools and instruments, MIT.nano also became the repository […]
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Life in a hologram
Dan Harlow spends a lot of time thinking in a “boomerang” universe. The MIT physicist is searching for answers to one of the biggest questions in modern physics: How can our universe abide by two incompatible rulebooks? The first — the Standard Model of Physics — is the quantum mechanical theory of particles, fields, and […]
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Evolution through example and action
“May we breathe life into the values we espouse as a community,” enjoined Senior Associate Dean Blanche Staton at a recent reception to honor MIT Graduate Women of Excellence. “May we bring our minds, hands, and hearts into our places and spaces, and may we continue to lift up our graduate women and all our […]
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40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer’s pathology, symptoms in mouse models
Evidence that noninvasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends to tactile stimulation. A new study by MIT scientists shows that Alzheimer’s model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration for […]
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Computational model mimics humans’ ability to predict emotions
When interacting with another person, you likely spend part of your time trying to anticipate how they will feel about what you’re saying or doing. This task requires a cognitive skill called theory of mind, which helps us to infer other people’s beliefs, desires, intentions, and emotions. MIT neuroscientists have now designed a computational model […]
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Turning a circle into a square is possible with this kirigami-inspired formula
Kirigami takes pop-up books to a whole new level. The Japanese paper craft involves cutting patterns in paper to transform a two-dimensional sheet into an intricate, three-dimensional structure when partially folded. In the hands of an artist, kirigami can yield remarkably detailed and delicate replicas of structures in nature, architecture, and more. Scientists and engineers […]
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He made linear algebra fun
The following series of numbers might help to summarize the MIT career of MathWorks Professor of Mathematics Gilbert “Gil” Strang ’55, who taught his last class on May 15. 3+2+61=66, or 75% of his life Strang has spent 66 of his 88 years at MIT — as a student, an instructor, and a faculty member. […]
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CoCo: A real-time co-creative learning platform for young people
CoCo is a new co-creative learning platform that empowers educators to engage children and teens in an endless variety of collaborative creative computing experiences with peers — regardless of whether they are sitting next to one another in a classroom or connecting remotely across continents. The platform supports real-time collaboration across multiple types of interactive […]
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Fueled by problem-solving
“Every time I try to solve a problem — whether it be physics or computer science — I always try to find an elegant solution,” says MIT senior Thomas Bergamaschi, who spent four years learning how to solve problems while an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) student in the Engineering Quantum Systems (EQUS) laboratory at […]
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A telescope’s last view
More than 5,000 planets are confirmed to exist beyond our solar system. Over half were discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, a resilient observatory that far outlasted its original planned mission. Over nine and a half years, the spacecraft trailed the Earth, scanning the skies for periodic dips in starlight that could signal the presence […]
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Even lawyers don’t like legalese
It’s no secret that legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, causing headaches for anyone who has had to apply for a mortgage or review any other kind of contract. A new MIT study reveals that the lawyers who produce these documents don’t like them very much either. The researchers found that while lawyers can […]
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MIT students Rupert Li and Audrey Xie named 2023-24 Goldwater Scholars
MIT undergraduates Rupert Li and Audrey Xie have been selected to receive Barry Goldwater Scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year. From an estimated pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, nearly 1,300 students were nominated by 427 academic institutions to compete for the scholarship, with Li and Xie representing two of only 413 […]
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Tackling the MIT campus’s top energy consumers, building by building
When staff in MIT’s Department of Facilities would visualize energy use and carbon-associated emissions by campus buildings, Building 46 always stood out — attributed to its energy intensity, which accounted for 8 percent of MIT’s total campus energy use. This high energy draw was not surprising, as the building is home of the Brain and […]
Read More Tackling the MIT campus’s top energy consumers, building by building
When staff in MIT’s Department of Facilities would visualize energy use and carbon-associated emissions by campus buildings, Building 46 always stood out — attributed to its energy intensity, which accounted for 8 percent of MIT’s total campus energy use. This high energy draw was not surprising, as the building is home of the Brain and […]
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River erosion can shape fish evolution, study suggests
If we could rewind the tape of species evolution around the world and play it forward over hundreds of millions of years to the present day, we would see biodiversity clustering around regions of tectonic turmoil. Tectonically active regions such as the Himalayan and Andean mountains are especially rich in flora and fauna due to […]
Read More River erosion can shape fish evolution, study suggests
If we could rewind the tape of species evolution around the world and play it forward over hundreds of millions of years to the present day, we would see biodiversity clustering around regions of tectonic turmoil. Tectonically active regions such as the Himalayan and Andean mountains are especially rich in flora and fauna due to […]
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Civil discourse project to launch at MIT
A new project on civil discourse aims to promote open and civil discussion of difficult topics on the MIT campus. The project, which will launch this fall, includes a speaker series and curricular activities in MIT’s Concourse program for first-year students. MIT philosophers Alex Byrne and Brad Skow from the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy […]
Read More Civil discourse project to launch at MIT
A new project on civil discourse aims to promote open and civil discussion of difficult topics on the MIT campus. The project, which will launch this fall, includes a speaker series and curricular activities in MIT’s Concourse program for first-year students. MIT philosophers Alex Byrne and Brad Skow from the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy […]
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Gravitational-wave detectors start next observing run to explore the secrets of the universe
The following article is adapted from a press release issued by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory, in collaboration with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration. LIGO is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by Caltech and MIT, which conceived and built the project. On Wednesday, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration began a new […]
Read More Gravitational-wave detectors start next observing run to explore the secrets of the universe
The following article is adapted from a press release issued by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory, in collaboration with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration. LIGO is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by Caltech and MIT, which conceived and built the project. On Wednesday, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration began a new […]
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Probabilistic AI that knows how well it’s working
Despite their enormous size and power, today’s artificial intelligence systems routinely fail to distinguish between hallucination and reality. Autonomous driving systems can fail to perceive pedestrians and emergency vehicles right in front of them, with fatal consequences. Conversational AI systems confidently make up facts and, after training via reinforcement learning, often fail to give accurate […]
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Exploring the links between diet and cancer
Every three to five days, all of the cells lining the human intestine are replaced. That constant replenishment of cells helps the intestinal lining withstand the damage caused by food passing through the digestive tract. This rapid turnover of cells relies on intestinal stem cells, which give rise to all of the other types of […]
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MIT community members who work to eradicate sexual violence recognized at 2023 Change-Maker Awards
On April 24, MIT celebrated outstanding students and employees at the annual Change-Maker Awards for their diligent work to eradicate sexual misconduct and support survivors. These architects of positive change exemplify one of MIT’s core values: striving to make our community a more humane and welcoming place where all can thrive. Hosted by MIT Violence […]
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Helping robots handle fluids
Imagine you’re enjoying a picnic by a riverbank on a windy day. A gust of wind accidentally catches your paper napkin and lands on the water’s surface, quickly drifting away from you. You grab a nearby stick and carefully agitate the water to retrieve it, creating a series of small waves. These waves eventually push […]
Read More Helping robots handle fluids
Imagine you’re enjoying a picnic by a riverbank on a windy day. A gust of wind accidentally catches your paper napkin and lands on the water’s surface, quickly drifting away from you. You grab a nearby stick and carefully agitate the water to retrieve it, creating a series of small waves. These waves eventually push […]
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