News

School of Science appoints 10 faculty to named professorships

December 5, 2022

The School of Science has announced that 10 of its faculty members have been appointed to named professorships. The faculty members selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers. Camilla Cattania has been named a Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric […]

MacGregor House gains a well-being graduate resident advisor

December 5, 2022

The noise of a construction site often annoys the people living and working nearby. But at MIT, it can lead to creativity and innovation. Such was the case with the creation of the new well-being graduate resident advisor (WGRA) role at MacGregor House. With the construction of a new apartment in the residence hall, heads-of-house […]

Using game engines and “twins” to co-create stories of climate futures

December 1, 2022

Imagine entering a 3D virtual story world that’s a digital twin of an existing physical space but also doubles as a vessel to dream up speculative climate stories and collective designs. Then, those imagined worlds are translated back into concrete plans for our physical spaces. Five multidisciplinary teams recently convened at MIT — virtually — […]

Ushering in a new era of computing

November 30, 2022

As a graduate student doing his master’s thesis on speech recognition at the MIT AI Lab (now the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), Dan Huttenlocher worked closely with Professor Victor Zue. Well known for pioneering the development of systems that enable an user to interact with computers using spoken language, Zue traveled frequently […]

A breakthrough on “loss and damage,” but also disappointment, at UN climate conference

November 29, 2022

As 2022 United Nations climate change conference, known as COP27, stretched into its final hours on Saturday, Nov. 19, it was uncertain what kind of agreement might emerge from two weeks of intensive international negotiations. In the end, COP27 produced mixed results: on the one hand, a historic agreement for wealthy countries to compensate low-income […]

Lessons in innovation based on values of the Cherokee Nation

November 29, 2022

Traditional Cherokee community values can broadly be condensed into four primary teachings that have guided members of the community through life and its challenges for centuries, two members of the Cherokee nation told an MIT audience last week. Be respectful and curious; observe and learn from your environment; take time to think about and find […]

MIT Policy Hackathon produces new solutions for technology policy challenges

November 28, 2022

Almost three years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the world. Many are still looking to uncover a “new normal.” “Instead of going back to normal, [there’s a new generation that] wants to build back something different, something better,” says Jorge Sandoval, a second-year graduate student in MIT’s Technology and Policy Program (TPP) at the Institute […]

The task of magnetic classification suddenly looks easier

November 28, 2022

Knowing the magnetic structure of crystalline materials is critical to many applications, including data storage, high-resolution imaging, spintronics, superconductivity, and quantum computing. Information of this sort, however, is difficult to come by. Although magnetic structures can be obtained from neutron diffraction and scattering studies, the number of machines that can support these analyses — and […]

Industrializing 3D printing

November 28, 2022

The cutting edge of additive manufacturing offers a world of possibilities for companies looking to transform their manufacturing processes and create new products. But companies that want to tap into that world have traditionally had to invest huge sums of money into the latest 3D printing machines and then figure out how to integrate them […]

Celebrating “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at MIT

November 28, 2022

Excited cheers and applause filled the 26-100 lecture hall on Nov. 20, as 77 Massachusetts Avenue — the main entrance to MIT — appeared on the big screen during a showing of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The several hundred MIT students in the audience had been waiting with eager anticipation for the first glimpse of […]