Ultrasmall optical devices rewrite the rules of light manipulation
Nanophotonic devices developed at MIT are compact, efficient, reprogrammable, adaptive, and able to dynamically respond to external inputs.
Department
Physics
Famous double-slit experiment holds up when stripped to its quantum essentials
MIT physicists confirm that, like Superman, light has two identities that are impossible to see at once.
Astronomers discover star-shredding black holes hiding in dusty galaxies
Unlike active galaxies that constantly pull in surrounding material, these black holes lie dormant, waking briefly to feast on a passing star.
Professor Emeritus Daniel Kleppner, highly influential atomic physicist, dies at 92
The “godfather of Bose-Einstein condensation” and MIT faculty member for 37 years led research into atomic, molecular, and optical physics that led to GPS and quantum computing.
QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2025-26
Ranking at the top for the 14th year in a row, the Institute also places first in 11 subject areas.
Closing in on superconducting semiconductors
Plasma Science and Fusion Center researchers created a superconducting circuit that could one day replace semiconductor components in quantum and high-performance computing systems.
New facility to accelerate materials solutions for fusion energy
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center to establish the Schmidt Laboratory for Materials in Nuclear Technologies.
Physicists observe a new form of magnetism for the first time
The magnetic state offers a new route to “spintronic” memory devices that would be faster and more efficient than their electronic counterparts.
Eight with MIT ties win 2025 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
The fellowships recognize doctoral students who have “the extraordinary creativity and principled leadership necessary to tackle problems others can’t solve.”
$20 million gift supports theoretical physics research and education at MIT
Gift from the Leinweber Foundation, in addition to a $5 million commitment from the School of Science, will drive discovery, collaboration, and the next generation of physics leaders.
MIT physicists discover a new type of superconductor that’s also a magnet
The “one-of-a-kind” phenomenon was observed in ordinary graphite.
MIT physicists snap the first images of “free-range” atoms
The results will help scientists visualize never-before-seen quantum phenomena in real space.
Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail
The small and rocky lava world sheds an amount of material equivalent to the mass of Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.
Unparalleled student support
Professors Andrew Vanderburg and Ariel White are honored as “Committed to Caring.”
MIT affiliates named 2024 AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science recognizes six current affiliates and 27 additional MIT alumni for their efforts to advance science and related fields.