Astronomers detected an extremely bright gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful type of explosion known in the universe. It’s the second-brightest GRB so far identified, likely originating from two merging neutron stars. | Continue reading
Placing solutions in the cloud but learning with boots on the ground, GEAR Lab researchers build low-cost, solar-powered irrigation tools to make precision agriculture more accessible. | Continue reading
OctoStudio, a new coding app from the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, enables young people around the world to use mobile devices to express themselves creatively. | Continue reading
MIT Associate Professor Desiree Plata has a lifelong mission of making sustainability a bigger factor in design decisions. | Continue reading
MIT Policy Lab director Drew Story describes the lab as an impact magnifier for MIT researchers and explains how it works with researchers to develop policy impact plans, trains researchers how to be useful to policymakers, and provides modest funding to facilitate engagement. | Continue reading
At the 15th Kendall Square Association annual meeting, community members celebrated both new and old aspects of the neighborhood. | Continue reading
LIGO researchers at MIT, Caltech, and elsewhere report a significant advance in quantum squeezing, which allows them to measure undulations in space-time across the entire range of gravitational frequencies detected by LIGO. | Continue reading
Maria Jesus Saenz of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics is dedicated to advancing future leaders, and to supporting women, in supply chain management. She has been recognized for her professional achievements and contributions to the success of women in SCM. | Continue reading
The architecture departments at MIT and Tuskegee University continue to build and deepen a connection that dates back more than 100 years. | Continue reading
MIT engineers designed a sort of workout mat for cells that can help scientists zero in, at the microscopic level, on exercise’s mechanical effects. The results suggest regular mechanical exercise can help muscle fibers grow in the same direction. | Continue reading
In a new book, Richard “Dick” Larson draws on a lifelong commitment to STEM education at MIT to offer accessible advice on solving everyday problems and making smarter decisions. | Continue reading
New soft, implantable fibers can deliver light to major nerves through the body. Developed at MIT, they are an experimental tool for scientists to explore the causes and potential treatments for peripheral nerve disorders in animal models. | Continue reading
An MIT workshop aimed to help nuclear engineers, policymakers, and academics learn about approaches to communicating accurate information about the management of nuclear waste, in hopes of allaying fears and encouraging support for the development of new, safer nuclear power plan … | Continue reading
A new study reveals the pitfalls of deep generative models when they are tasked with solving engineering design problems. The MIT researchers say if mechanical engineers want help from AI for novel ideas and designs, they’ll have to refocus those models beyond “statistical simila … | Continue reading
StructCode, developed by MIT CSAIL researchers, encodes machine-readable data in laser-cut objects by modifying their fabrication features. | Continue reading
MIT professor Daron Acemoglu, a leading expert on economic growth and the uses and risks of automation, has been awarded the WZB Berlin Science Center's A.SK Award for fundamental contributions to labor economics, macroeconomics, and political economy. | Continue reading
When stacked in five layers in a rhombohedral pattern, graphene takes on a rare “multiferroic” state, exhibiting both unconventional magnetism and an exotic electronic behavior known as ferro-valleytricity. | Continue reading
MIT Professor Edward Crawley reflects on five decades at the Institute and beyond. From teaching and research to entrepreneurship, government and industry collaborations, and launching a new university, Crawley has done it all — and shows no signs of slowing down. | Continue reading
While useful for killing pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, 222-nanometer UV lights may produce harmful compounds in indoor spaces, and should be used with ventilation, MIT researchers have found. | Continue reading
MIT researchers used generative AI models to help robots more efficiently solve complex object-manipulation problems, such as stacking objects in a cabinet. | Continue reading
NIH announces MIT professors Ariel Furst and Fan Wang have won grants in the 2023 High Risk, High Reward Research program. | Continue reading
MIT associate professor Eden Medina is co-curating a museum exhibition, “How to Design a Revolution: The Chilean Road to Design." The exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup. It’s the most extensive presentation of the history of graphic and i … | Continue reading
An MIT Lincoln Laboratory study finds "formal specifications" do not seem to be understood by humans. The finding casts doubt on many claims by AI and autonomy researchers that formal specifications can be used to make these systems interpretable, a long-held challenge … | Continue reading
Images that humans perceive as completely unrelated can be classified as the same by computational models. | Continue reading
MIT engineers designed a system that can efficiently produce “solar thermochemical hydrogen.” It harnesses the sun’s heat to split water and generate hydrogen — a clean fuel that emits no greenhouse gas emissions. | Continue reading
In September 2023, the MIT community and neighbors browsed a used book sale in the Kendall/MIT Open Space. The event supported the MIT Community Service Fund which unites MIT volunteers and donors to support our neighbors. | Continue reading
MIT professor and atmospheric chemist Jesse Kroll received the MIT Postdoctoral Association's annual mentoring award for his inclusive and supportive advising of postdocs. | Continue reading
Species from snails to algae to amoebas make programmable DNA-cutting enzymes called Fanzors, and a new study from MIT’s McGovern Institute has identified thousands of them. | Continue reading
The Living Knitwork Pavilion, constructed by a team from MIT and exhibited at Burning Man 2023, is an interactive architectural installation combining textiles, science, and art on a desert landscape. | Continue reading
MIT chemists discovered the structure of the “open” state of the coronavirus E channel, which contributes to the inflammation seen in cells of Covid-19 patients. The structure could guide researchers in developing antiviral drugs that block the channel and help prevent inflammati … | Continue reading
C-Crete, founded by MIT alumnus Rouzbeh Savary, has created a more sustainable cement binding material that could significantly reduce the industry’s carbon emissions. | Continue reading
First-year MIT students can discover hands-on learning at MakerLodge, an immersive experience that trains them in making, tools, safety, and more. | Continue reading
The MIT spinout Silverthread, founded by Dan Sturtevant, helps companies turn massive, complex codebases into modular systems to improve their performance. | Continue reading
The MIT professor of economics studies social mobility and examines which policies can give people a chance to thrive. | Continue reading
MIT physicists coaxed superconductivity and more from quasicrystals. The work introduces a flexible platform for making the enigmatic materials that could jump-start interest in the field and allow new studies of exotic phenomena. | Continue reading
Scientists have invested decades in piecing together how our vision is so good at recognizing what’s familiar. A new study overcomes an apparent discrepancy in data to reveal a new insight into how it works. | Continue reading
Over 200 social impact leaders gathered to hear the 2023 Solver teams pitch their solutions to address global issues at the Solve Challenge Finals, hosted by MIT Solve. | Continue reading
The Undergraduate Association Sustainability Committee repurposes items for good causes — and discovers a few hidden gems — following a burst pipe in W20. | Continue reading
MIT researchers report children who used a mindfulness app at home for 40 days showed improvements in several aspects of mental health, including reductions in stress and negative emotions such as loneliness and fear. | Continue reading
NASA’s Psyche mission, a project with deep roots at MIT, is setting course for a metallic space rock that could be the remnant of a planetary core like our own. Its principal investigator is MIT alumna and former professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton, who leads a team including longtime … | Continue reading
Five MIT faculty, along with seven additional affiliates, are honored for outstanding contributions to medical research. | Continue reading
MIT researchers show how topology can help create magnetism at higher temperatures. | Continue reading
The MIT’s Writers’ Group has helped community members channel their creative energies since 2002. | Continue reading
MIT scientists find the sounds beneath our feet are fingerprints of rock stability. | Continue reading
The Institute’s pooled investments lost 2.9 percent last year; endowment stands at $23.5 billion. | Continue reading
The Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET) program uses an MIT-inspired curriculum and MISTI student instructors to help young Palestinians and Israelis find common ground. | Continue reading
Through community-based research with organizations that work to “hoʻomomona hou i ka ʻāina,” or “restore that which feeds back to abundance,” PhD student Aja Grande has embarked on a healing journey of her own. | Continue reading
MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Supercomputing Center has developed tools to reduce data center energy use by power-capping hardware and by improving the efficiency with which models are trained — in some cases, their techniques reduce energy use by 80%. | Continue reading