MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Prof. Albert Saiz speaks with Boston Globe reporter Andrew Brinker about the economics of homebuying and why the Massachusetts homebuying market is so challenging. “The gap between what people make and what homes cost is completely outrageous,” says Saiz. “And this data does not even represent the situation for working-class families who are making minimum wage. A large portion of the state’s population cannot afford to buy a home here, which is not how a housing market is supposed to function.”

In a letter to the editor of  The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Yossi Sheffi shares his perspective on the role of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and voices support for the appointment of his colleague Prof. Retsef Levi to the committee. Sheffi notes that ACIP is “charged with assessing [vaccine] safety and efficacy. That is done through statistics and data science, areas in which Mr. Levi excels.” 

MIT researchers have developed a power-free, water-collecting device that extracted a glass of clean water from the air in Death Valley, California, suggesting that “the device could provide the vital resource to arid regions,” reports Alex Wilkins for New Scientist.“Because the design of this device is quite a compact structure, we believe that an even larger area of the device can supply the drinking water for a household for daily consumption,” explains Prof. Xuanhe Zhao.

Research Scientist Robert Ajemian speaks with National Geographic reporter Erika Engelhaupt about loci, an ancient technique that “transforms any familiar space into a storage system for new information.” “It’s shocking to me that this is so understudied when this was the dominant form of information storage for literally all of civilization, until the printing press,” says Ajemian.  

Prof. Simon Johnson speaks with Wired reporter Paresh Dave about the financial and social cost of AI implantation in the workforce, making the case that governments should lower payroll taxes for entry-level roles to encourage hiring and help humans build careers. “The right lever to pull is one that reduces costs to employers,” says Johnson.  

Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, and research affiliate Ramin Hasani have been named to The Boston Globe’s 2025 list of Tech Power Players working in the foundational AI sector, reports Aaron Pressman for The Boston Globe. Rus and Hasani are co-founders of Liquid AI, a startup that has developed “an AI technique with fewer software ‘neurons’ than large language models of OpenAI and others,” explains Pressman. This means “Liquid AI requires less computing power (and electricity.)” 

Graduate student Alex Kachkine speaks with Nature reporter Amanda Heidt about his work developing a new restoration method for restoring damaged artwork. The method uses “digital tools to create a ‘mask’ of pigments that can be printed and varnished onto damaged paintings,” explains Heidt. The method “reduces both the cost and time associated with art restoration and could one day give new life to many of the paintings held in institutional collections — perhaps as many as 70% — that remain hidden from public view owing to damage.” 

Senior Research Scientist C. Adam Schlosser speaks with Boston Globe reporter Lindsay Crudele about how tending to personal gardens can be an effective tool in combating climate change. “We obviously have a lot of technologies that are trying to remove carbon from the air,” Schlosser explains, but “the best way of doing that, in terms of nature, is to plant new vegetation.”  

Kurt Knutsson of FOX News spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new mobile robot, dubbed E-BAR, designed to help physically support the elderly and prevent falls at home. “What stands out about E-BAR is how it's designed with real people in mind, not just as a tech gadget,” Knutsson explains. “It's easy to see how something like this could make a big difference for seniors wanting to stay independent without feeling tied down by bulky or uncomfortable devices.”

Hank Green – a YouTuber, science communicator, and author - addressed the 2025 graduating class during his commencement address at the OneMIT ceremony, encouraging students to “stay curious,” reports Emily Spatz for The Boston Globe. “Do. Not. Forget. How special and bizarre it is to get to live a human life,” said Green. “Something very special and strange is happening on this planet and it is you.”