Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

“In research contexts, I’m driven mostly by the technical difficulty of the problem, and the opportunity to learn,” Sami Alsheikh explains.

Computer science and engineering major helps people while having fun

Senior Sami Alsheikh helps others, solves problems, and has fun doing both.

January 29, 2016

“Science is always subject to a set of assumptions,” David Gifford says. “What this whole study demonstrates, in my opinion, is that it’s important to think carefully about our assumptions.”

Mapping regulatory elements

Systematically searching DNA for regulatory elements indicates limits of previous thinking.

January 27, 2016

Researchers used the MIT and Tim the Beaver logos to show photoluminescence emissions from a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide inlayed onto graphene. The arrow indicates the graphene-MoS2 lateral heterostructure, which could potentially form the basis for ultrathin computer chips.

New chip fabrication approach

Depositing different materials within a single chip layer could lead to more efficient computers.

January 27, 2016

Marvin Minsky, “father of artificial intelligence,” dies at 88

Professor emeritus was a co-founder of CSAIL and a founding member of the Media Lab.

January 25, 2016

Left to right: Susan Hockfield, Payal Kadakia, Dina Katabi, Helen Greiner, Jesse Draper, Anantha Chandrakasan

Empowering innovation

Panel highlighting female innovators from a range of fields aims to encourage student entrepreneurs.

January 22, 2016

On the top row are two images of a nanomesh bilayer of PDMS cylinders in which the top layer is perpendicular to the complex orientation of the bottom layer. The bottom images show well-ordered nanomesh patterns of PDMS cylinders. The images on the right show zoomed-in views of the images on the left.

Self-stacking nanogrids

Polymer nanowires that assemble in perpendicular layers could offer route to tinier chip components.

January 22, 2016

This GridForm model of a village in Bihar, India, shows the optimal layout of hardware for the load profiles of the community. Each building, color-coded by the cost (in Indian rupees) of supplying electricity to that structure, is wired to a central generation/storage node (solid lines), and the nodes are connected to each other (dotted lines).

Going off grid: Tata researchers tackle rural electrification

At MIT’s Tata Center for Technology and Design, researchers are exploring ways to extend electricity access to rural communities in India using microgrids.

January 21, 2016

In a forest simulation, algorithms segment space into “obstacle-free regions” and then link them together to find a single collision-free route.

Drones dodge obstacles

Motion-planning algorithms allow drones to do donuts, figure-eights in object-filled environments.

January 19, 2016

For both his master’s and his doctoral theses, Michael Watts (pictured) developed a photonic circuit that could align the polarizations of light traveling through an optical chip.

Local boy makes good

Michael Watts took two decades to make the 20-mile trip from suburban Hingham to tenure at MIT.

January 19, 2016

“It started informally as my way of giving back to the MIT community,” says MIT junior Benjamin Chan. His daily chalkboard project welcomes students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the Stata Center.

Mind, hand, heart — and chalk

A daily art project conceived by MIT student Benjamin Chan welcomes students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the Stata Center.

January 13, 2016

A donkey grazes in a pasture near solar panels at Sanctuary Dairy Farm Ice Cream in Sunapee, New Hampshire.

Concentrating dawn-to-dusk solar energy

MOSAIC award spurs MIT research into concentrator solar cells that can run in shade and full sun with power control and wavelength separation.

January 11, 2016

MIT affiliates were well represented in the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30, honoring young leaders.

25 from MIT named to Forbes 30 Under 30 lists in 2016

Students, researchers, and alumni honored in the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists showcasing America’s most important young entrepreneurs, thinkers, and leaders.

January 7, 2016

This image demonstrates tissue patterns that emerge from genetically programmed human pluripotent stem cells, and was taken on day nine of the MIT study. It shows immunostainings of cell nuclei for CEBPA (red, endodermal marker), SOX10 (green, ectodermal marker), and DAPI (blue, binds to DNA in the nucleus).

Organ-on-a-chip

In a step toward personalized drug testing, researchers coax human stem cells to form complex tissues.

January 6, 2016

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (center) and Martijn Sanders (right), chair of the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, present the prize to Wikipedia representatives (l-r) Adele Vrana, Lodewijk Gelauff, and Phoebe Ayers.

MIT Libraries’ Phoebe Ayers accepts Erasmus Prize on behalf of Wikipedia

Librarian and longtime Wikipedia contributor accepts Dutch prize honoring exceptional contributions to culture and society.

January 5, 2016

The DriveWell app runs in the background of a smartphone, collecting data on driving behavior. Drivers receive a score on a scale from 1 to 100, a route map, and tips for improvement. Scores can also be used for insurance discounts, or to compete with friends and other drivers worldwide.

Smarter driving, using your phone

App that rates drivers’ behavior yields promising safety results on the road.