Inspired by the interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, researchers at MIT have developed a “four-point strategy to understand the impact of fake news and social-media manipulation,” reports Annalisa Merelli for Quartz. Prof. Sinan Aral notes that “granting data access for analysis while otherwise maintaining strong protection of it would be vital” in order for the strategy to be used properly.
Esteban Bustillos of WGBH’s On Campus highlights the work of MIT Director of Athletics Julie Soreiro ahead of her retirement at the end of the fall semester. “Soriero's biggest contribution may be making the school’s athletic mission an extension of its academic one,” says Bustillos. “It’s best summed up in a phrase that’s become something of a mantra for her: ‘We will not apologize for winning.’”
A new MIT study of the Dead Sea scrolls found “salts used on the writing layer of the Temple scroll [that] are not common to the Dead Sea region,” reports Nicola Davis for The Guardian. “These salts are not typical for anything we knew about associated with this period and parchment making,” explains Prof. Admir Masic.
A new paper from Prof. Kristin J. Forbes finds that the increased impact of globalization on the rate of inflation will affect everything from government policy to stock market returns. “The study's findings also suggest that central banks may be losing their power to direct the economy,” reports Dion Rabouin for Axios.
Prof. Wolfgang Ketterle speaks with Big Picture Science about the science behind the redefinition of the standard of mass for the kilogram. “We are defining the units in terms of perfect objects, objects made by nature and not manmade objects, which have imperfections,” explains Ketterle. “What we have now done instead is redefined the kilogram as the mass of an exact number of natural particles.”
Martin Finucane writes for The Boston Globe about a “thought-provoking new report” from the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future. “There is a lot of alarmist rhetoric about how the robots are coming,” said Elisabeth Beck Reynolds, executive director of the task force. “MIT’s job is to cut through some of this hype and bring some perspective to this discussion.”
A new study by MIT researchers examines how tech workers adjust when certain skill set declines in importance, reports Michelle Cheng for Quartz. “The findings suggest that when their skills became obsolete, the IT workers who adjusted were thinking about the long term and were capable of learning by doing,” Cheng explains.
MIT was ranked the number two college in the country in the latest Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal rankings, reports Abbi Matheson for The Boston Globe. Matheson explains that the rankings are “based on an assessment of outcomes, resources, engagement, and environment.”
TechCrunch reporter Jordan Crook writes that the Event Horizon Telescope Team was honored for their work capturing the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole with a Breakthrough prize in Fundamental Physics. Prof. Emeritus Daniel Freedman was also honored with a Special Breakthrough Prize for the invention of supergravity.
National Geographic reporter Nadia Drake writes that scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope team, including a number of MIT researchers, have received the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The team was honored for their work creating “humankind’s first image of a monster black hole.”
National Geographic reporter Nadia Drake writes that scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope team, including a number of MIT researchers, have received the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The team was honored for their work creating “humankind’s first image of a monster black hole.”
The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, which includes a number of MIT researchers, has been honored with the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work capturing the first image of a black hole, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. Prof. Max Metlitski was also honored with a New Horizons Prize.
Bloomberg columnist Noah Smith highlights Prof. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson’s new book that advocates “for a bold program to boost federal spending on science and technology, focusing on regions where growth is lagging” in an effort to help revive economic growth in the U.S.
TechCrunch reporter Ingrid Lunden spotlights Ginger, an MIT startup “that works with organizations and their healthcare providers to provide employees with an app-based way to connect with coaches to talk through their issues and suggest ways forward,” reports Ingrid Lunden for TechCrunch.
MIT has been named the number two college in the nation in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings, reports Melissa Korn and Douglas Belkin for The Wall Street Journal. The rankings “emphasize how well a college will prepare students for life after graduation.”