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In the Media

WCVB

Ariel Ekblaw SM ’17, PhD ’20, founder of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, joins WCVB-TV to discuss the successful return of NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, and the impact of nine months in space on the human body. "When you're living in a long-duration microgravity mission, you do lose some of your muscle mass,” Ekblaw explains. “Your heart weakens because it's not having to pump your blood against the force of gravity. And even funny things like your eyesight can change because the shape of your eyeball is a little different in microgravity.”

Business Insider

A new study by Prof. Jackson Lu and graduate student Lu Doris Zhang finds that assertiveness is key to moving up the career ladder, and that debate training could help improve an individual’s chances of moving into a leadership role, reports Julia Pugachevsky for Business Insider. “If someone knows when to voice their opinions in a diplomatic and fruitful way, they will get more attention,” says Lu. 

Interesting Engineering

MIT researchers have developed a new method to grow artificial muscles for soft robots that can move in multiple directions, mimicking the iris of an eye, reports Mrigakshi Dixit for Interesting Engineering. The researchers developed a new technique called “stamping” to create “an artificial iris-like structure,” Dixit explains. “For this, they 3D-printed a tiny stamp, patterned with microscopic grooves. This stamp is then pressed into a soft hydrogel to create a blueprint for muscle growth.”

Wired

A new proposal by graduate student Shayne Longpre and other AI researchers suggests “a new scheme supported by AI companies that gives outsiders permission to probe their models and a way to disclose flaws publicly,” reports Will Knight for Wired. “The authors suggest three main measures to improve the third-party disclosure process: adopting standardized AI flaw reports to streamline the reporting process; for big AI firms to provide infrastructure to third-party researchers disclosing flaws; and for developing a system that allows flaws to be shared between different providers,” writes Knight. 

GBH

Newsha Ghaeli PhD '17, co-founder of BioBot Analytics, speaks with GBH Morning Edition host Mark Herz about the company’s role in helping public health officials during the Covid-19 pandemic. “When we started the company, the vision was really that wastewater is a source of very important source on human health,” says Ghaeli. 

Mechanical Engineering Magazine

After suffering a concussion during her sophomore year, senior Emiko Pope, a mechanical engineering major and midfielder on the MIT women's soccer team, was inspired to study the effectiveness of concussion headbands, reports Cathy Cecere for Mechanical Engineering Magazine. “After collecting data simulating concussions and testing multiple concussion headbands, my data revealed that certain concussion headbands can reduce the force of direct impact by up to 80 percent,” says Pope.

Fast Company

Writing for Fast Company, graduate student Sheng-Hung Lee and Devin Liddell of Teague highlight four types of AI technologies that could aid senior citizens in their homes. “To better understand how seniors want AIs and robots to help in their homes, we asked them,” they write.  “We recruited seniors from the MIT AgeLab’s research cohort—each around 70 years old and in the early stages of retirement—and then engaged in wide-ranging conversations about their aspirations and fears about these technologies.”

The Economic Times

MIT has been named among the top-performing intuitions in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, reports The Economic Times. MIT ranks “first in 12 subjects, maintaining its stronghold in fields like engineering, technology, and computer science,” explains Economic Times

The Boston Globe

Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray spotlights how MIT researchers developed a thumb-sized rover and a depth-mapping camera, technologies that will be used on a mission to the south pole of the Moon. The mini rover, dubbed AstroAnt, could one day be used to “patrol the exteriors of lunar probes, satellites, or space stations. Some might use cameras to spot meteorite damage, while others could apply sealants to prevent air or fuel leaks.”

Community Updates

Featured Multimedia

Neuroscientist Sidney Diamond is a researcher in Pawan Sinha’s Lab in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, where, at 99 years old, he studies the science of visual learning and helps to decode the mysteries of brain development. In addition to the invaluable decades of experience Sid brings to his work, he serves as a mentor and inspiration to his colleagues.

MIT researchers built a new drone system that can accurately track its location indoors, including in the dark and low-visibility settings. The invention, dubbed MiFly, uses cross-polarized radars and wireless tags to enable the drone to track its location in six degrees of freedom. This new technology has many applications in warehousing, automation, delivery, and more.

Brent Minchew is an Associate Professor of Geophysics in the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. He studies the behavior of glaciers in response to environmental factors and is dedicated to understanding sea level rise and exploring viable interventions to stabilize ice sheets. Here, President Kornbluth and Brent discuss glacier-related sea-level rise and potential mitigation solutions.

Dr. Woodie Flowers was a visionary in mechanical engineering education, shaping learning at MIT and beyond. Flowers passed away in 2019, but his legacy lives on and the magnitude of the educational revolution he helped to evolve was profound. His friends, former colleagues, and students reflect on his life and legacy.

Thinking on Your Feet: Dance as a Learning Science is a class taught by Jennifer S. Light, the Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology and a professor of Urban Studies and Planning. In the course, students explore the pedagogical possibilities of dance across the academic curriculum.

Josh Angrist is the MIT Ford Professor of Economics. A Nobel-prize winning economist, Angrist is co-founder and director of MIT’s Blueprint Labs, where he focuses on researching methods for measuring school effectiveness. Angrist joined MIT in 1996. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Elaine Chew SM ’98, PhD ’00, a concert pianist and professor of engineering at King’s College London, has been developing novel methods for studying music and its physiological impacts. Her work includes musical compositions based on unusual heart rhythms and systems for measuring and analyzing how classical music impacts the heart.

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