TechCrunch reporters Kyle Wiggers and Devin Coldewey spotlight how MIT researchers developed a new technique for simulating an overall system of independent agents: self-driving cars. “The idea is that if you have a good amount of cars on the road, you can have them work together not just to avoid collisions but to prevent idling and unnecessary stops at lights,” write Wiggers and Coldewey.
A time capsule buried in 1957 by former MIT President James R. Killian and Prof. Harold Edgerton will be unveiled in 2957 a full millennium after its burial, writes Michele Debczak for Salon.
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Charles Stewart III provides evidence that hand counting paper ballots is less accurate than using ballot scanners to tabulate results. “Computers — which ballot scanners rely on — are very good at tedious, repetitive tasks,” writes Stewart. “Humans are bad at them. And counting votes is tedious and repetitive.”
MIT celebrated the Classes of 2020 and 2021 during a special ceremony on May 28 that featured an address by Kealoha Wong ’99, Hawaii’s first poet laureate, reports Laura Crimaldi for The Boston Globe. “We may make some esoteric discovery or some small contribution to our industries, but most likely, our most significant impact will be in our communities and in our families,” Kealoha said. “Our impact will be felt in the way that we treat others and the way that we treat ourselves.”
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that global climate change is progressing faster than anticipated, reports Xinhua News. “By comparing climate model simulations with current storm observations, the team discovered that human-caused storm intensification over recent decades has already reached the levels projected to occur in 2080.”
Janie Mines MBA ’98 speaks with WRDW about her academic and professional accomplishments, and her book “No Coincidences: Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy.” Of the numerous awards and distinctions she has received, Mines noted that they provided her the opportunity “to come out and tell people just how valued they are and how we should respect one another and spend less time judging and more time appreciating and learning from one another,” says Mines.
India New England News speaks with MIT MBA alumna Dipali Trivedi about her work as a co-founder and mentor, as well as the importance of encouraging women to pursue leadership roles in the companies they have founded. “I enjoy bringing innovation to a complex domain with the help of next generation technology,” says Trivedi. “Seeing your idea materialized and used by thousands of people is an amazing experience, I enjoy solving challenges of launching new venture ground-up.”
Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with Forbes contributor Peter Cohan about the carbon emissions associated with gas, hybrid and electric vehicles, and the site she and her research group developed to allow consumers to compare personal vehicles against climate change mitigation targets. “In most locations, compared to [gas-powered vehicles], EVs produce emissions savings greater than 30%,” says Trancik. "Most savings are greater depending on the geographic location, the electricity supply, and the vehicle model.”
Gizmodo reporter Passant Rabie writes that researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory developed a tiny gold-coated satellite called the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system with the goal of beaming “down data at the fastest rate ever achieved by space lasers.”
Next spring, the Stratton Student Center is set to undergo significant renovations, which will include “refreshing the physical space inside and outside the building, launching the Wellbeing Lab, updating dining options, and upgrading the existing infrastructure,” reports Andrea Jaba for The Tech. “This project is all about putting MIT’s students at the center of our student center,” said Chancellor Melissa Nobles.
After 50 years, Michael Gruenbaum ‘53 successfully published "Tell Me About Beethoven,” a book he wrote with his late wife, Thelma, as a tribute to the composer and to educate and entertain their three sons, writes Cindy Cantrell for The Boston Globe. Gruenbaum, who notes that he wanted to publish the book to help raise awareness of his wife’s talents as a writer, noted that Beethoven, “had to overcome so many obstacles in his life, and yet that didn’t deter him from doing what he wanted to do: compose music the way he liked to compose it, and the way it had never been done before.”
Wasalu Jaco – the Grammy-award winning rapper, entrepreneur and producer better known as Lupe Fiasco - will be teaching rap at MIT next spring as part of MIT's MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program, reports Dana Gerber for The Boston Globe. “MIT stands as the pinnacle of higher learning and execution for so many, including myself,” says Fiasco. “I’m overjoyed to have the opportunity to be in the midst of some of the world’s greatest minds to offer my humble perspective and absorb new practices and principles.”
InsideTracker - a personalized-nutrition company founded by scientists from MIT, Harvard, and Tufts University - utilizes blood tests to calculate biological age, reports Betsy Morris for The Wall Street Journal. The company analyzes blood samples for “markers of conditions like inflammation, heart health and liver or kidney disorder,” explains Morris. “Those who test as older than their years get recommendations to adjust diet, exercise and supplements.”
Popular Science reporter Andrew Zaleski spotlights Prof. Antoine Allanore and his work developing new methods to extract materials from rock without burning fossil fuels. “The electrification of metal production is groundbreaking,” says Allanore. “It not only allows us to avoid certain fuels and carbon emissions, it opens the door to higher productivity.”
Instructor Natalie Kuldell writes for The Boston Globe about the importance of creating more workplace learning opportunities for high school students. “Without question, every career decision I’ve made has been influenced by that first summer internship, guiding my choice of undergraduate major, my doctoral thesis, my postdoctoral fellowship, and then my academic and teaching life,” writes Kuldell.