The Sloan School of Management and the Ruderman Family Foundation’s LINK20 have started a new week-long program aimed at equipping social justice and inclusion advocates “with theories and strategies in the areas of digital leadership, networking and entrepreneurship to become high-impact social influencers,” reports Sarah Kim for Forbes.
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Wired reporter Matt Simon about the potential impact of technology and automation on everything from jobs and the labor market to climate change. “Technology is an incredibly powerful tool,” says Brynjolfsson, “and if we make the effort, we can use this tool to live lighter on the planet.”
A new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that life on Earth may have begun in shallow bodies of water, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. The researchers found that ponds “could have held high concentrations of a key ingredient, nitrogen, while that would have been less likely in the ocean,” Finucane explains.
MIT alumni and tiddlywinks champions Larry Kahn and David Lockwood are teaming up for a shot at the Tiddlywinks World Championships, reports NPR’s Emma Bowman and Scott Simon. “Tournament tiddlywinks is a fascinating combination of physical skill at a micro level and positional strategy,” explains Lockwood.
Forbes contributor Daniel D’Ambrosio writes about how MIT alumnus Renaldo Webb has founded a company called Pet Plate, which provides fresh meals for dogs. D’Ambrosio explains that, “Webb realized that pet owners wanted a fresh option. He could launch a business that would ‘make a meaningful difference in the lives of pets across the country.’”
Inside Science reporter Yuen Yiu writes that MIT researchers have developed a new AI system that can summarize scientific research papers filled with technical terms. Yiu writes that the system “is a dramatic improvement from current programs, and could help scientists or science writers sift through large numbers of papers for the ones that catch their interest.”
Prof. Brandon Clifford, director and co-founder of Matter Design, has developed a new way to move heavy concrete slabs, using only human force, by exploring ancient building methods, reports Katharine Schwab for Fast Company. “The resulting project, called Walking Assembly, demonstrates the possibilities with a set of interlocking concrete puzzle pieces that the designers are able to assemble into a solid wall and staircase in about 15 minutes,” Schwab explains.
Researchers from MIT and Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a new process to produce isobutanol, a biofuel, in a cheaper and more efficient way, reports Jonathan Ng for The Boston Herald.
Motherboard reporter Nicole Carpenter explores the history of the source code for the text adventure game Zork, which was developed in 1977 by members of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science. Carpenter explains that for a niche group of programmers, the source code, could serve as “a collection of information that’ll propel their research forward.”
A survey developed by Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen identifies several habits of highly-productive people, reports Prachi Bhardwaj for Money. “Probably the most important habit is whether you are geared to accomplishing a lot rather than putting in a lot of hours,” explains Pozen. “That leads to the second most important thing, which is whether you’ve defined your highest priorities and you’re focused on your highest priorities.”
In this video, Reuters explores how MIT researchers have developed a robot that can automatically sort recycling. The robot uses a pressure sensor to squeeze items to determine how they should be sorted.
Prof. Frank Wilczek writes for The Wall Street Journal about how the first image of a black hole could help scientists gain a better understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. “To a thinking mind, the image reflects the glory of understanding, and to an alert imagination it opens new portals into space, time and deep history,” writes Wilczek.
Boston Globe reporter Mark Feeney spotlights the “Arresting Fragments: Object Photography at the Bauhaus,” exhibit on display at the MIT Museum. The exhibit “conveys a particular sense of why the Bauhaus was so influential,” writes Fenney.
In the wake of a fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, Prof. Catherine Clark speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about how Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” inspired France to rejuvenate the cathedral. Clark explains that the book reminds her of how, “this is a structure that is built by time and history itself and each generation adds their stones.”
Axios reporter Ina Fried spotlights how graduate student Arnav Kapur has developed a system that can detect speech signals. “The technology could allow those who have lost the ability to speak to regain a voice while also opening up possibilities of new interfaces for general purpose computing,” Fried explains.