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Materials Science and Engineering

SolidEnergy Systems' battery (far right) is twice as energy-dense, yet just as safe and long-lasting as the lithium ion batteries used in consumer electronics. The battery uses a lithium metal foil for an anode, which can hold more ions and is several times thinner and lighter than traditional lithium metal, graphite, carbon, or silicon anodes. A novel electrolyte also keeps the battery from heati...

Doubling battery power of consumer electronics

New lithium metal batteries could make smartphones, drones, and electric cars last twice as long.

August 16, 2016

MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Peter Su shows Summer Scholar Ashley Del Valle Morales how to operate a laser and detector system she will use during her summer project under Senior Research Scientist Anuradha Agarwal.

Chemical sensing at telecom wavelengths

Summer Scholar Ashley Del Valle Morales probes new a silicon carbide system in the MIT Microphotonics Center.

August 8, 2016

Erica Eggleton is working this summer in the lab of MIT Professor Krystyn Van Vliet on lithium manganese oxide (LMO) electrodes for lithium ion batteries. Here, she measures out carbon powder, a binder, and LMO, the active powder used in the battery electrodes.

Analyzing lithium ion battery fatigue

Summer Scholar Erica Eggleton joins Van Vliet Lab to make and test lithium manganese oxide electrodes.

August 2, 2016

Romulus Capital, a venture capital seed firm, controls $150 million in funds and other assets, having just raised a new fund of $75 million in June. Now the firm plans to fund 20 new startups, adding to its existing portfolio of 30 startups, many of which are MIT spinouts.

Building a foundation for tech startups

Launched in an MIT dorm room, alum’s venture capital firm now controls $150 million in assets.

July 14, 2016

Professional rider and founder of Mirai EV of Japan Yosihiro Kishimoto rides the electric bike designed by the KOMMIT Electric Vehicle Team.

Team led by MIT engineers places second at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Motorcycle completes 12.5 miles, 156 turns for a second-place finish in the race's Electric Bike Division.

July 11, 2016

Unfolding a locked letter

Unlocking the past with the future of imaging

New grants help MIT Libraries, DMSE, and CSAIL push the boundaries of examining artifacts.

July 7, 2016

$The method combines optical microscopy techniques (left, in pink) with electron backscatter diffraction (right, in green) to measure characteristics of the boundaries between crystal grains, which help determine the material’s overall properties.$

New technique provides detailed views of metals’ crystal structure

Method uses readily available tools to quickly determine materials’ properties.

July 6, 2016

This image shows microneedles, which are mostly used for the delivery of drugs and vaccines across the skin, and the silicone mold used to make them.

Seeing science

Workshop led by scientist and photographer Felice Frankel teaches researchers how to translate experiments into captivating images.

July 1, 2016

These fluorescent gels were synthesized by mixing a polymer (polyethylene glycol) and a ligand (terpyridine) with two lanthanides — europium and terbium — in varying ratios.

The promise of fluorescent polymer gels

Color-changing materials could be used to detect structural failure in energy-related equipment.

July 1, 2016

Pictured on the left is a spleen; on the right are red blood cells. ““We have presented results showing that the spleen is the main organ that defines the shape of the circulating red blood cells” says Ming Dao, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

How the spleen filters blood

Computer model finds slits in the spleen impose a “physical fitness test” on red blood cells.

June 27, 2016

Supercharging undergraduate research

Now open to the entire School of Engineering, SuperUROP is creating an interdisciplinary community of scholars.

June 21, 2016

Professor Chris Terman (center) developed digital tools to better teach students computational structures. He is flanked by Dean for Graduate Education Christine Ortiz (left) and Dean for Undergraduate Education Dennis M. Freeman.

First annual MIT Teaching with Digital Technology Awards presented

Awards honor faculty and instructors who have effectively leveraged digital technology to improve teaching and learning at MIT.

June 13, 2016

This diagram depicts the way a new surface treatment can improve the efficiency and longevity of perovskite materials for use in applications such as fuel-cell electrodes. Within the bulk of the material (bottom left) oxygen vacancies shown as “holes” are distributed throughout the material, and cause intense chemical reactivity. But on the surface, many of those vacancies get filled by oxygen...

Researchers find a way to extend life and improve performance of fuel cell electrodes

Surface treatment greatly reduces degradation of catalyst material.

June 13, 2016

Left to right: School of Engineering Dean Ian A. Waitz, graduate student Zachary Sherman, and Alan Oppenheim '59, '64 ScD, sponsor of the School of Engineering Graduate Student Award for Extraordinary Teaching and Mentoring.

School of Engineering awards for 2016

Awards were given to outstanding faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students.

June 10, 2016

These micrographs show the fibers embedded in polymer and demonstrate how the fibers break apart into segments when they are stretched out in the cold-drawing process.

New method snips complex fibers into uniform particles

Stretching process can produce nanoscale rods or strips made of many material combinations.

June 6, 2016