MIT physicists turn pencil lead into “gold”

MIT physicists have metaphorically turned graphite, or pencil lead, into gold by isolating five ultrathin flakes stacked in a specific order. The resulting material can then be tuned to exhibit three important properties never before seen in natural graphite. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Writing code, and decoding the world

In “Code Work: Hacking Across the US/México Techno-Borderlands,” MIT Assistant Professor Héctor Beltrán explores the relationship between computer culture and society in Mexico. He finds that coding generates fruitful reflection by the coders, about themselves, their political an … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Kristala Prather named head of the Department of Chemical Engineering

Professor Kristala Prather, an expert in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, has been named the new head of MIT's Department of Chemical Engineering. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

ILLUMA-T launches to the International Space Station

MIT Lincoln Laboratory's ILLUMA-T, a laser communications terminal in low Earth orbit, seeks to demonstrate high data rates from the ISS to NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration satellite in geosynchronous orbit and ultimately to Earth, and from the ground back up … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Professor Emeritus Walter Hollister, an expert in flight instrumentation and guidance, dies at 92

Walter M. Hollister, an MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics professor emeritus and alumnus who will be remembered as a pilot and aviation enthusiast, passed away Sept. 9 at age 92. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Spoken-word collaboration shows off the MIT community’s musical talents

"It gives people an outlet and a way of expressing themselves through music,” says one contributor to the MITverses project. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

The power of knowledge

Joshua Kuffour aims to take classes in as many departments as possible before he graduates from MIT. “It's taught me about valuing different ways of thinking,” says the senior, who is double-majoring in chemical engineering and mathematics, with a minor in energy studies. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Ayomikun Ayodeji ’22 named a 2024 Rhodes Scholar

MIT alumnus Ayomikun “Ayo” Ayodeji ’22 from Lagos, Nigeria, has been selected as a Rhodes Scholar for West Africa. He will begin fully funded postgraduate studies at Oxford University in the U.K. next fall. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

MIT engineers are on a failure-finding mission

MIT engineers developed a technique to quickly identify a range of potential failures in a system before they are deployed in the real world. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Explained: Generative AI

What do people mean when they say “generative AI,” and why are these systems finding their way into practically every application imaginable? MIT AI experts help break down the ins and outs of this increasingly popular, and ubiquitous, technology. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time

MIT physicists have trapped electrons in a pure crystal, marking the first achievement of an electronic flat band in a three-dimensional material. The results provide a new way for scientists to explore rare electronic states in 3D materials. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

The Beaver visits Father Sky: Meet MIT’s First Nations Launch team

MIT Doya blasted their first rocket to a height of 1,290 meters, placing second at the 2023 First Nations Launch contest. The team is now gearing up for a 2024 launch. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

GlycoMIT Symposium celebrates advancements in glycobiology

Glyco enthusiasts from MIT and beyond recently gathered in Bartos Theatre to enjoy presentations of the latest advancements in glycobiology research. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Centering feminism

Professor Lerna Ekmekcioglu investigates marginalized women and potential empowerment. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Three from MIT named American Physical Society Fellows for 2023

The American Physical Society named MIT's Paola Cappellaro, Maria Gatu Johnson, and Bradley Olsen as APS Fellows for their research, applications, teaching, and leadership. Ten additional MIT alumni were also named. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Anesthesia technology precisely controls unconsciousness in animal tests

An advanced closed-loop anesthesia delivery system that monitors brain state to tailor propofol dose and achieve exactly the desired level of unconsciousness could reduce post-op side effects. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Panel examines Israel-Hamas conflict

The latest MIT Starr Forum evaluated the political and regional dynamics of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and discussed the elements that could be necessary for longer-term stability — while noting that any ideas about a lasting resolution are highly speculative. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

An e-commerce marketplace to spur growth in Latin America

Pacifiko, founded by MIT alumnus Jorge Schippers, is expanding access to affordable products in Latin America with an e-commerce marketplace currently launched in Guatemala and Costa Rica. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

MIT D-Lab works to empower artisanal women miners in Colombia

MIT D-Lab is working with women in Colombia to help them build a labor movement focused on reducing gender-based violence and environmental degradation. Central to the D-Lab’s project is their methodology of Creative Capacity Building, which promotes community-driven innovation a … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Robert van der Hilst to step down as head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

MIT Professor Robert van der Hilst is stepping down as head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences after more than a decade in that role. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

History from the ground up

MIT historian Megan Black studies the way the U.S. has developed mining around the world, and the way environmentalists have resisted it. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Teen uses calculus learned through MITx to better understand his cancer treatment

Dustin Liang, a 17-year-old high school senior, enrolled in MITx’s Calculus 1A: Differentiation online class after being diagnosed with cancer. He then estimated his blood cell counts by applying knowledge from the course and talking to doctors. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

How to decarbonize the world, at scale

At the MIT Energy Initiative’s Annual Research Conference, speakers highlighted strategies for implementing large-scale reductions in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions to meet mid-century goals. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Reflecting on a decade of SuperUROP at MIT

SuperUROP, an undergraduate research program, is celebrating its 10th year of existence at MIT. Four alumni of the program, each with different career paths, reflect on the ways their participation in SuperUROP helped them develop as scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and sc … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Innovating for health equity

As an engineer and EMT, MIT senior Abigail Schipper works to make medicine more accessible to all. “A device can’t work if the system around it is inhospitable,” she says. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Using language to give robots a better grasp of an open-ended world

The Feature Fields for Robotic Manipulation (F3RM) system, developed by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), enables robots to interpret open-ended text prompts in natural language, enhancing their ability to manipulate objects in real-world … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

2023-24 Takeda Fellows: Advancing research at the intersection of AI and health

13 new Takeda Fellows for MIT's 2023-24 academic year will conduct pathbreaking research ranging from remote health monitoring for virtual clinical trials to ingestible devices for at-home, long-term diagnostics. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

How “blue” and “green” appeared in a language that didn’t have words for them

A new study suggests the way a language divides up color space can be influenced by contact with other languages. Tsimane’ people who learned Spanish as a second language began to classify blue and green into using separate words, which their native tongue does not do. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

In online news, do mouse clicks speak louder than words?

Partisan media might deepen political polarization, but we should measure people’s media habits more carefully before drawing conclusions, researchers say. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

The power of representation and connectivity in STEM education

The “Bridging Talents and Opportunities" event held in October is part of an initiative led by MIT Latinx professors and students, aimed at providing talented Latino high school students from the greater Boston area and various Latin American countries a unique chance to exp … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Forging climate connections across the Institute

A new grant program for MIT faculty and graduate students, called the Fast Forward Faculty Fund (F^4 for short), has awarded six grants to enable new work on climate change while strengthening collaboration on climate across the Institute. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

MIT startup has big plans to pull carbon from the air

Noya, a startup founded by MIT alumnus Josh Santos, has developed low-power, modular units that can be combined to create facilities for removing millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Designing cleaner vehicles

MIT graduate student Adi Mehrotra ’22 is working on sustainable solutions in vehicle design, including a hydrogen-powered motorcycle. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Military students innovate technology solutions for US Special Operations Command

More than 80 U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy cadets gathered at MIT and Lincoln Laboratory to kick off the 2024 SOCOM Ignite program. The program tasks military students from across the nation to innovate technology solutions for the U.S. Special Operations Command. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Steven Barrett named head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Professor Steven Barrett, an expert in the environmental impacts of aviation, has been named head of MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

In a surprising finding, light can make water evaporate without heat

At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to an MIT study. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

A new record for Math Prize for Girls wins

Twelfth grader Jessica Wan won the 15th Math Prize for Girls (MP4G) annual contest for female-identifying students, hosted by the MIT Department of Mathematics, for the third time. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Light-activated muscle grafts show promise in aiding muscle recovery post-trauma

New research aims to restore mobility for those who have lost muscle through disease or trauma. Actuating grafts seem to turn on cell signals related to the growth of new blood vessels and nerves. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Engineers develop an efficient process to make fuel from carbon dioxide

An efficient new process can convert carbon dioxide into formate, a material that can be used like hydrogen or methanol to power a fuel cell and generate electricity. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Accelerating AI tasks while preserving data security

SecureLoop is an MIT-developed search engine that can identify an optimal design for a deep neural network accelerator that preserves data security while improving energy efficiency and boosting performance. This could enable device manufacturers to increase the speed of demandin … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

New techniques efficiently accelerate sparse tensors for massive AI models

New computational techniques, “HighLight” and “Tailors and Swiftiles,” could dramatically boost the speed and performance of high-performance computing applications like graph analytics or generative AI. The work, from MIT and NIVIDIA, aims to accelerate sparse tensors for AI mod … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

3 Questions: A roadmap toward circularity in the footwear industry

The "Footwear Manifesto," a report on reducing waste in the footwear industry, kick-starts a collaborative discussion on the pathway to environmental sustainability. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

MIT’s Justin Yu wins Classic Tetris World Championship

In a Q&A, the MIT junior describes how all the pieces fell into place as he captured the Tetris world title. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Turning engineers into well-rounded communicators

The MIT School of Engineering’s Communication Lab provides peer coaching and other services to students and postdocs seeking to improve their communications skills. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

A marvel in masonry shows the art of the possible

Masonry experts including MIT faculty, alumni, and students played a key role the construction of “Lookout,” a new sculpture by Martin Puryear. The curving structure, made of rectilinear bricks, is now on display at the Storm King Art Center. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Books under attack, then and now

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford, spoke about attacks on books at MIT's Hayden Library, inaugurating a new series of conversations about academic freedom and expression. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks about nuclear power’s role at a critical moment in history

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), delivered the 2023 David J. Rose Lecture in Nuclear Technology at MIT, where he spoke about the IAEA’s unique role cutting across science, international security, and development, and what i … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago

School of Engineering third quarter 2023 awards

Faculty and researchers across MIT’s School of Engineering receive many awards in recognition of their scholarship, service, and overall excellence. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 2 years ago