A new study by MIT researchers that sheds light on heat transfer in boiling water could allow nuclear power plants to run more efficiently, reports Jim Efstathiou Jr. for Bloomberg News. “Learning more about how heat is transferred could help safely boost the output from nuclear power plants by as much as 20 percent,” Efstathiou explains.
WBZ-TV’s Anna Meiler spotlights undergraduate Riley Quinn, who is running the Boston Marathon to raise funds for an organization that provides custom prosthetic devices for amputees. “Knowing I’m raising money for a cause that matters so much to me and will impact the lives of others,” says Quinn, “it’s that extra push where it makes me try a little harder.”
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Sabri Ben-Achour of Marketplace about his work quantifying the economic benefits of goods and services that GDP does not measure. “We haven’t been measuring the value of the environment or digital goods,” says Brynjolfsson. “That means policy makers, when they are trying to see where is value coming and how is the economy growing, they have been missing that understanding.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Thomas Levenson argues that fears about China’s potential to dominate 5G demonstrate the need for the U.S. to invest in scientific research. “If our scientific dominance ends, it will not be because of Chinese perfidy, but because the US chose to surrender its commanding role in the search for knowledge,” writes Levenson.
In an article for Fast Company about recycling, Adele Peters highlights MIT startup Renewlogy, which turns mixed plastic products into low-carbon, cost-competitive fuel. “To shift the needle and get recycling rates over 10%, you really need to focus on these low-value plastics,” says Renewlogy CEO Priyanka Bakaya, an MIT alumna.
Prof. Regina Bateson examines President Trump’s proposal to cut off aid to several countries in Central America in an article for WBUR. Bateson argues that the “decision isn’t really about policy. It’s about populism.”
Writing for The Guardian, Prof. Kate Brown argues that a better understanding of the health ramifications of radioactivity is needed before nuclear power is expanded. “Before we enter a new nuclear age, the declassified Chernobyl health records raise questions that have been left unanswered about the impact of chronic low doses of radioactivity on human health,” writes Brown.
In an article for AIGA Eye on Design, Liz Stinson explores the history of how Muriel Cooper and her research group helped transform the field of computer-generated art. “Through the research conducted in her workshop, she inspired a generation of designers to explore the intersection of design and technology, and in the process built a lineage of creative programmers,” writes Stinson.
Verge reporter Angela Chen spotlights Prof. Michael Strano’s work using nanobionics to engineer plants. “It’s long overdue that we start to look at plants as the starting point of technology,” explains Strano. “As an engineering platform, they have a number of untapped advantages.”
Popular Science reporter Rob Verger writes that MIT and NASA researchers have developed a new design for a plane wing that can change shape mid-flight. As the plane wing is assembled from hundreds of different parts, it could be programmed in a specific way to control the “response that it has to an aerodynamic load,” explains graduate student Benjamin Jenett.
Wall Street Journal reporter Mike Bird writes that MIT researchers have proposed a new metric for GDP that would incorporate free digital goods and services. Bird explains that the researchers found that Facebook “would have boosted U.S. economic growth by between 0.05 and 0.11 percentage points a year” under the new metric.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater highlights how MIT spinoff Formlabs has unveiled two new 3-D printers that offer more form and accuracy than earlier models. “Along with increased accuracy, the new machines feature real-time health updates, remote printing and modular designs, so users can swap out parts to keep them going,” Heater explains.
MIT startup ClearMotion Labs has developed technology that helps cars adjust to potholes in the road, making for a smoother ride, reports Robert Goulston for Boston 25 News. “As the wheels are going over bumps, those sensors are detecting those bumps and instantaneously looking to push and pull the wheels,” explains MIT alumnus and ClearMotion CEO Shakeel Avadhany.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Thomas Malone examines how AI could transform business hierarchies. “AI may create some more centralized hierarchies, and even more situations that call for flexible structures,” writes Malone. The overall goal, though, will remain “figuring out how to combine the different capabilities of people and computers into ‘superminds’ that are smarter than anything we’ve ever had before.”
Prof. Regina Barzilay speaks with NPR reporter Richard Harris about her work developing AI systems aimed at improving identification of breast cancer in mammograms, inspired by her experience with the disease. “At every point of my treatment, there would be some point of uncertainty, and I would say, 'Gosh, I wish we had the technology to solve it,’” says Barzilay.