History of science

"What does it mean," Aidinoff asks "when civil rights become about access to computers and the internet? When lack of internet access is considered a form of poverty? These questions were getting under my skin," he says. "I wanted to know how social and economic policy were tied to changing ideas about technology."

PhD student Marc Aidinoff explores how technology impacts public policy

Historian's research focuses on understanding how visions for social and economic policy are tied to changing ideas about technology.

November 18, 2019

Kate Brown is a professor in MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society.

Historian of the hinterlands

In overlooked spots on the map, MIT Professor Kate Brown examines the turbulence of the modern world.

November 12, 2019

"Scientists are often motivated by factors other than wages,” says Carolyn Stein, "but many insights from labor economics still help us understand how the field of science functions. Incentive and career concerns still matter. And risk is a big concern.”

Meet Carolyn Stein: Researching the economics of science

MIT PhD student explores the impact of scientists being "scooped" when a competing research team publishes results first, a concern for many disciplines.

September 23, 2019

A study co-authored by MIT professor Pierre Azoulay has shown that in many areas of the life sciences, the deaths of prominent researchers are often followed by a surge in highly cited research by newcomers to those fields.

New science blooms after star researchers die, study finds

Deaths of prominent life scientists tend to be followed by a surge in highly cited research by newcomers.

August 29, 2019

The computer system and software that controlled the Apollo 11 spacecraft — called the Apollo Guidance Computer and designed by the MIT Instrumentation Lab team — helped push technology forward in many ways. The computer itself was the first significant use of silicon integrated circuit chips.

Behind the scenes of the Apollo mission at MIT

From making the lunar landings possible to interpreting the meaning of the moon rocks, the Institute was a vital part of history.

July 18, 2019

Fernando "Corby" Corbató led the development of early “time-sharing” operating systems, including Multics and the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS).

Professor Emeritus Fernando Corbató, MIT computing pioneer, dies at 93

Longtime MIT professor developed early “time-sharing” operating systems and is widely credited as the creator of the world’s first computer password.

July 15, 2019

"As an engineer and historian, I’ve been 'bilingual' my entire career,” says David Mindell, the Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing; professor of aeronautics and astronautics; and co-founder and CEO of Humatics Corporation. “Dual competence is a good model for undergraduates at MIT as well."

3Q: David Mindell on his vision for human-centered robotics

Engineer and historian discusses how the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing might integrate technical and humanistic research and education.

June 18, 2019

PhD student Clare Kim studies the history of mathematics and the ways that mathematicians interacted with artists, humanists, and philosophers throughout the 20th century.

A scholar and teacher re-examines moments in the history of STEM

“I love teaching,” says PhD student Clare Kim. “It’s not that I’m just imparting knowledge, but I want [my students] to develop a critical way of thinking.”

June 13, 2019

Dwaipayan Banerjee says he will endeavor to answer the question: What is lost when a handful of U.S.-based corporations seek to determine hierarchies of technology work and control how its social benefits are globally distributed?

Dwaipayan Banerjee receives 2019 Levitan Prize in the Humanities

Award will support research for "A Counter History of Computing in India."

June 10, 2019

MIT Professor Daniela Rus, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, kicked off an all-female lineup of speakers at TEDxMIT.

CSAIL hosts first-ever TEDxMIT

Speakers — all women — discuss everything from gravitational waves to robot nurses.

May 31, 2019

Seok Kim, a postdoc in Professor Nicholas Fang’s lab, holds up a 3-D-printed porous substrate that could be used as a catalytic reactor to remove toxic gases in cars and power plants.

A new era in 3-D printing

Mechanical engineering researchers are inventing game-changing technologies and developing a renaissance in 3-D printing.

May 16, 2019

Media Advisory — How the new kilogram measures up

On Monday, May 20, Professor and Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle will explain the new standards of measurement for mass, charge, temperature, and mole.

May 14, 2019

Robin Scheffler and his new book, “A Contagious Cause: The American Hunt for Cancer Viruses and the Rise of Molecular Medicine.”

In cancer research, a winding road to discovery

Book by MIT professor examines the circuitous history behind the investigation of cancer as a contagious illness.

May 14, 2019

From science class to the stock exchange

“I’m all about finding connections,” says senior Stephon Henry-Rerrie about his path from engineering to the financial sector.

April 30, 2019

Will Deringer examines the history of human efforts to use statistics to influence opinions and shape policy. “Many MIT students will likely be practitioners in the data field,” the assistant professor says, “so I want to encourage them to think about issues, such as: Why do we invest so much trust in numbers, and what are the consequences for who we are?”

The quest to understand human society scientifically

In STS.047 (Quantifying People), MIT students explore the history of science from the 17th century to the present, through the eyes of statisticians and sociologists.