Physics

Dennis Whyte, director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

MIT continues progress toward practical fusion energy

In series of talks, researchers describe major effort to address climate change through carbon-free power.

January 24, 2019

William Oliver says government research funding will have to be augmented with commercialization of quantum computing, and that will require trained scientists and engineers.

Q&A: The talent shortage in quantum computing

William Oliver says a lack of available quantum scientists and engineers may be an inhibitor of the technology’s growth.

January 23, 2019

Robert Simcoe will assume his post as director of MIT Kavli Institute on Jan. 16.

Robert Simcoe named director of MIT Kavli Institute

An expert in instrumentation and early universe observations, Simcoe succeeds Jacqueline Hewitt as head of MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

January 10, 2019

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is a radio telescope designed to answer major questions in astrophysics and cosmology, including the phenomena of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), fleeting and intense radio bursts with an unknown origin. The telescope is located in the mountains of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley at the NRC’s Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory.

Revolutionary radio telescope detects bevy of fast radio bursts

Researchers use CHIME telescope to detect fast radio bursts at low frequencies and a second repeating burst.

January 9, 2019

Achieving goals in the lab and on the pitch

Senior Anthony Badea, a physics major and varsity soccer player, investigates the beginnings of the universe.

January 9, 2019

NASA’s TESS mission, which will survey the entire sky over the next two years, has already discovered three new exoplanets around nearby stars.

TESS discovers its third new planet, with longest orbit yet

Measurements indicate a dense, gaseous, “sub-Neptune” world, three times the size of Earth.

January 7, 2019

"When we stimulate theoretically inclined minds by framing plasma physics and fusion challenges as beautiful theoretical physics problems, we bring into the game incredibly brilliant students," says associate professor of nuclear science and engineering Nuno Loureiro.

Nuno Loureiro: Understanding turbulence in plasmas

Theoretical physicist's focus on the complexity of plasma turbulence could pay dividends in fusion energy.

January 3, 2019

Anna Frebel is searching the stars for clues to the universe’s origins

MIT astronomer and writer investigates ancient starlight and shares her excitement about the cosmos.

January 1, 2019

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have recorded the “temporal coherence” of a graphene qubit — how long it maintains a special state that lets it represent two logical states simultaneously — marking a critical step forward for practical quantum computing.

Physicists record “lifetime” of graphene qubits

First measurement of its kind could provide stepping stone to practical quantum computing.

December 31, 2018

On Dec. 18, Deutsche Post issued a stamp to honor the research of the Illustris collaboration, a supercomputer simulation of galaxy formation, led at MIT by Mark Vogelsberger, an associate professor of physics in the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

Stamp of approval

MIT’s Mark Vogelsberger and the Illustris project are honored by Germany's postal service with an official stamp.

December 27, 2018

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (right), an associate professor of physics at MIT, was honored with Physics World's Breakthrough of the Year for his group's discovery of “magic-angle” graphene, a “promising technique for adjusting the electronic properties of graphene.” Graduate student Yuan Cao (left) was a lead researcher in the work.

MIT research honored with Physics World “Breakthrough of the Year” awards

"Magic-angle" graphene named 2018 Breakthrough of the Year; first ionic plane and earliest evidence of hydrogen gas named to top 10 breakthroughs.

December 27, 2018

School of Science honors postdocs and research staff with 2019 Infinite Kilometer Awards

Five winners are recognized for their outstanding contributions to colleagues, the school, and the Institute.

December 26, 2018

Riccardo Comin (left), an assistant professor of physics, and physics graduate student Abraham Levitan assemble the contacts on a sample holder that they’ll use to study the effects of high current on the superconducting material yttrium barium copper oxide, in the cryogenic optical spectrometer seen in the foreground. The setup enables the researchers to perform Raman spectroscopy down to 4 kel...

Better superconductors from ceramic copper oxides

Riccardo Comin seeks to elucidate the microscopic physics of high-temperature superconducting devices to advance their technological applications.

December 13, 2018

NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes are both now located beyond the heliosphere, a protective bubble created by the sun. Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, or the edge of the heliosphere, in August 2012. Heading in a different direction, Voyager 2 crossed another part of the heliopause in November 2018.

3 Questions: MIT goes interstellar with Voyager 2

MIT Kavli's John Richardson describes MIT's role in the historic passing of the Voyager 2 craft past the heliopause and into the interstellar medium.

December 10, 2018

Thirty-one MIT community members were named to this year’s list, including 25 alumni.

More than 30 from MIT named to Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Forbes calls its 2019 30 Under 30 honorees “a collection of bold risk-takers who are putting a new twist on the old tools of the trade.”

December 7, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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