Merging science and systems thinking to make materials more sustainable
Passionate about materials science “from the atom to the system,” Elsa Olivetti brings a holistic approach to sustainability to her teaching, research, and coalition-building.
How to decarbonize the world, at scale
The MIT Energy Initiative’s Annual Research Conference highlights strategies for implementing large-scale reductions in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
3 Questions: A roadmap toward circularity in the footwear industry
Coauthors of a “Footwear Manifesto” report discuss survey findings that point to industry collaboration as a path to reducing waste in shoe manufacturing.
3 Questions: What should scientists and the public know about nuclear waste?
Professor Haruko Wainwright describes a new effort to communicate information about managing and disposing of spent fuel from nuclear reactors.
MIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun’s heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel
Conventional systems for producing hydrogen depend on fossil fuels, but the new system uses only solar energy.
Cleaning up one of the world’s most commonly used substances
C-Crete, founded by Rouzbeh Savary PhD ’11, has created a cement alternative that could significantly reduce the industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.
New tools are available to help reduce the energy that AI models devour
Amid the race to make AI bigger and better, Lincoln Laboratory is developing ways to reduce power, train efficiently, and make energy use transparent.
MIT announces 2023 Bose Grants for daring new research
Grants fund studies of honeybee tracking, glass building materials, and defining excellence in human movement.
Tracking US progress on the path to a decarbonized economy
The Clean Investment Monitor database, a new collaboration between MIT CEEPR and the Rhodium Group, shows $213 billion in clean technology and infrastructure investments in the last year.
Desirée Plata appointed co-director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium
Plata’s expertise in academics and industry will help advance the mission of the consortium and propel implementable climate solutions forward.
Jackson Jewett wants to design buildings that use less concrete
The PhD student is honing algorithms for designing large structures with less material — helping to shrink the construction industry’s huge carbon footprint.
Harnessing hydrogen’s potential to address long-haul trucking emissions
MIT researchers work to transform truck powertrain design, with support from the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium.
Technologies for water conservation and treatment move closer to commercialization
J-WAFS awards 2023 Solutions Grants to bring two water-related innovations to the market.
Study suggests energy-efficient route to capturing and converting CO2
The findings, based on a single electrochemical process, could help cut emissions from the hardest-to-decarbonize industries, such as steel and cement.
Q&A: Three Tata Fellows on the program’s impact on themselves and the world
MIT graduate students in technology and policy aim to make an impact in resource-constrained communities through energy research and real-world application.