New catalog more than doubles the number of gravitational-wave detections made by LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories
The latest crop of space-time wobbles includes a variety of heavy, fast-spinning, and lopsided colliding black holes.
Department
Physics
MIT faculty, alumni named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows
Annual award honors early-career researchers for creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments.
Terahertz microscope reveals the motion of superconducting electrons
For the first time, the new scope allowed physicists to observe terahertz “jiggles” in a superconducting fluid.
MIT engineers design structures that compute with heat
By leveraging excess heat instead of electricity, microscopic silicon structures could enable more energy-efficient thermal sensing and signal processing.
Study: The infant universe’s “primordial soup” was actually soupy
MIT physicists observed the first clear evidence that quarks create a wake as they speed through quark-gluon plasma, confirming the plasma behaves like a liquid.
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero wins BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
MIT physicist shares 400,000-euro award for influential work on “magic-angle” graphene.
Eighteen MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2025-27
The program recognizes outstanding mentorship of graduate students.
Anything-goes “anyons” may be at the root of surprising quantum experiments
MIT physicists say these quasiparticles may explain how superconductivity and magnetism can coexist in certain materials.
Nuno Loureiro, professor and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, dies at 47
In his 10 years at MIT, Loureiro helped illuminate the physics occurring at the center of fusion vacuum chambers and at the edges of the universe.
MIT community members elected to the National Academy of Inventors for 2025
Professors Ahmad Bahai and Kripa Varanasi, plus seven additional MIT alumni, are honored for highly impactful inventions.
School of Science welcomed new faculty in 2024
Eleven new professors join the departments of Biology; Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Mathematics; and Physics.
Scientists get a first look at the innermost region of a white dwarf system
X-ray observations reveal surprising features of the dying star’s most energetic environment.
John Marshall and Erin Kara receive postdoctoral mentoring award
Faculty recognized for the exceptional professional and personal guidance they provide postdocs.
Leading quantum at an inflection point
The MIT Quantum Initiative is taking shape, leveraging quantum breakthroughs to drive the future of scientific and technological progress.
MIT physicists observe key evidence of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene
The findings could open a route to new forms of higher-temperature superconductors.