MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - On Campus and Around the world

Prof. Nuno F.G. Loureiro is remembered as a “brilliant ‘physicist’s physicist,’” who “pushed for revolutionary breakthroughs in the complex, arcane field of plasma science,” in a tribute by Boston Globe reporter Brian MacQuarrie. “Inside and outside the lab, Mr. Loureiro also was known for a charismatic leadership style that combined warmth, humor, and personal engagement in the relentless pursuit of excellence,” MacQuarrie writes. “Nuno represents what MIT treasures in its people,” notes Prof. Joseph Paradiso, “at the top of his game in research, but with a wide-ranging curious mind ready to grapple with new ideas.”

New York Times reporter Rebecca Elliott spotlights Phoenix Tailings, a startup co-founded by MIT alumni that is developing a sustainable process for refining rare-earth refining in the United States. Elliott notes that Phoenix Tailings created a closed-loop design for their manufacturing method that “distinguishes this process from the more energy-intensive techniques used in China, where workers scoop up molten metal with ladles.”

MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics Research Scientist Sreedevi Rajagopalan speaks with Associated Press reporter Aya Diab about the impact of “fast shipping” options on emissions. “For the same demand, fast shipping definitely increases emissions 10 to 12%,” explains Rajagopalan. “Given that companies want to be competitive in terms of speed, it comes at the cost of your efficiency. Vans are half full, and you make multiple rounds, multiple trips to the same location … your fuel consumption goes up, and you’re not able to consolidate.”

Prof. Albert Saiz speaks with Boston Globe reporter Andrew Brinker about the barriers to homeownership in the United States, specifically in the Greater Boston area. “Unless we do something about housing stock — building, building, building — this is a dangerous situation for working class folks who used to depend on housing as their main way to accumulate wealth,” says Saiz.

Prof. Deblina Sarkar speaks with Forbes reporter William A. Haseltine about her work developing “circulatronics,” microscopic electronics devices that could one day be used to help treat brain diseases. “What we have developed are tiny electronic devices that can travel through body fluids and autonomously find their target regions, with no external guidance or imaging,” explains Sarkar. “They provide very precise electrical stimulation of neurons without the need for surgery.” 

Prof. Rebecca Saxe speaks with GBH’s Morning Edition host Mark Herz about the importance of maintaining social commitments. “People who have community and social relationships have better physical and mental health,” explains Saxe. “It actually helps with mortality. You live longer if you have strong social relationships.” 

Prof. Yossi Sheffi speaks with Boston Globe reporter Claire Thornton about fraud and crime in the digital age, and its impact on supply chain management. According to Sheffi, “instead of crimes that rely on physical covertness, breaking and entering, violence, or the threat of it, digital-age criminals are finding more success posing as legitimate members of the supply chain in order to trick businesses,” writes Thronton. 

The Wall Street Journal features reporter Amy Dockser Marcus’ visit to the MIT AgeLab and her time using the AGNES age-simulation suit on the The Future of Everything’s Best of 2025 list, reports Conor Grant for The Wall Street Journal. Grant highlights Marcus’ newfound awareness “of challenges faced by the elderly – and a new motivation to prepare for old age.”

Fortune contributor Andrew Winston highlights an analysis from the MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab, part of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, examining the role of sustainability in supply chains. The researchers found that “85% of companies were maintaining or accelerating sustainable supply chain practices.”

Washington Post columnist George F. Will reflects on MIT and his view of “the damage that can be done to America’s meritocracy by policies motivated by hostility toward institutions vital to it.” Will notes that MIT has an "astonishing economic multiplier effect: MIT graduates have founded companies that have generated almost $1.9 trillion in annual revenue (a sum almost equal to Russia’s GDP) and 4.6 million jobs."

Sherwin Greenblatt '62, SM '64 reflects on his two-decade tenure as director of MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service (VMS), a program that provides support for entrepreneurs in the MIT community, reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe.  “VMS differs from many mentoring programs in that entrepreneurs are connected to not just one mentor, but several subject matter experts, depending on their needs,” explains Chesto. “These are also considered long-term commitments, not just several months of counsel and brainstorming.” 

A new study co-authored by Prof. Lawrence Schmidt examining AI and job losses found that “AI can successfully complete many of a worker’s job responsibilities but not all,” reports Pattie Hunt Sinacole for Boston.com. “About 14% of roles within a company can be performed by AI, according to Schmidt’s research. However, AI is less effective in tasks where critical thinking may be required,” Hunt Sinacole explains. 

MIT researchers have developed “GelSight,” a system that provides robots with a sense of touch, reports Ben Guarino for Scientific American. “GelSight can identify by touch the tiny letters spelling out LEGO on the stud of a toy brick,” explains Guarino. 

Lila Sciences, a startup co-founded by Prof. Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli, is developing new platforms aimed at enabling AI-driven laboratories to accelerate materials discovery for energy, sustainability, and computing, writes David Rotman for Technology Review. “If they succeed, these companies could shorten the discovery process from decades to a few years or less,” Rotman notes. 

Prof. Emeritus Paul Osterman speaks with The Boston Globe reporter Scotty Nickerson about increased employment opportunities in nursing homes and residential care facilities. “Baby boomers and retirements are going to increase demand, and a lot of folks are going to need longer-term health care,” says Osterman.