This year, MIT’s Global Startup Workshop (GSW), a student-run “conference on innovation and technology,” will take place in Bangkok, writes Jon Russell of TechCrunch. “We’ve been focusing more on emerging markets because it’s such an exciting space to be in and it’s a space where GSW can have the most impact,” said graduate student and organizer Juan Ruiz Ruiz.
Clive Thompson of Wired speaks with Prof. Neil Gershenfeld, creator of the “fab lab” concept, about what those labs may look like in 30 years. “Gershenfeld is an optimist,” Thompson writes. “He thinks fab labs can create a future that is better for all people and the planet.”
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are donating $30 million to Reach Every Reader, an MIT and Harvard initiative that aims to tackle low elementary school literacy rates. Students younger than third grade will be the focus as “early intervention can have the most profound effect on turning students into proficient readers,” writes James Vaznis for The Boston Globe.
MIT researchers have discovered that arranging two stacked layers of graphene at a slight angle makes the material a superconductor, writes Elizabeth Gibney for Nature. After discovering that the graphene had the ability to conduct electrons, researchers applied “a small electric field to feed just a few extra charge carriers into the system, and it became a superconductor.”
Prof. Michael Strano has developed a new device that generates electricity by harnessing energy from temperature changes. Elements that usually hinder the effectiveness of solar panels, like clouds or sand, “wouldn’t affect [this device's] ability to harness power from the ever-changing temperatures,” explains Sydney Pereira of Newsweek.
In an article for Financial Times, CSAIL Director Daniela Rus explains why humans should collaborate rather than compete with AI. “Technology and people do not have to be in competition,” writes Rus. “Collaborating with AI systems, we can augment and amplify many aspects of work and life.”
Alumnus Mark Ethier ’01 talks to NECN’s Brian Burnell about his startup, iZotope, that allows musicians of all levels to record professional grade audio. “I was a passionate musician, who wanted to make recordings, and I understood the technology, but the tools out there were really complicated,” Ethier said.
Lecturer Luis Perez-Breva writes for Quartz about why most retail corporations’ definition of AI is flawed. “'AI' is at its best when we program it to address problems that are hard for humans; when not used to upskill humans, however, all it does is shift work from employees to customers,” Perez-Breva writes.
In a Science Friday short film, “Breakthrough: Connecting the Drops,” Professor Lydia Bourouiba shows how she designs tests to study infectious disease transmission. First aired in April 2017, the video is one of a six-part series “Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science,” which Science Friday will release at select theaters nationwide this March for Women’s History Month.
A working paper published by MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research found that 74% of rideshare drivers earn less than the minimum wage for their state. “The report also showed a huge turnover rate among drivers, with half to 90 percent quitting after a short time,” writes Carolyn Said for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Mary Beth Griggs writes for Popular Science about a new Nature study where researchers have identified cold hydrogen dating back to 180 million years post-big bang. “Some of the radiation from the very first stars is starting to allow hydrogen to be seen,” says Alan Rogers of the Haystack Observatory.
Prof. John Gabrieli writes about new research that uses brain scans to predict who will be receptive to certain therapies for mental illness. "Brain scans to tailor treatments embody a new form of personalized medicine, an approach that often relies on customizing therapies based on an individual's genetics," Gabrieli writes for Scientific American.
Astranis, a startup co-founded by alum Ryan McLinko, is building smaller and less expensive satellites for the purpose of providing internet access. “[T]he company just might be able to bring affordable high-speed internet to places where laying fiber isn't practical, such as the Pacific islands,” writes Klint Finley for Wired.
Sam Levin writes for The Guardian about a new working paper published by MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research that has "raised fresh concerns about labor standards in the booming sharing economy." The study found that after incurred costs associated with driving, U.S. rideshare employees "make a median profit of $3.37 per hour before taxes."
In comments told to NCAA’s Champion magazine, MIT’s recently retired lacrosse coach reflects on 43 years at MIT. The coach, Walter Alessi, describes the feeling when hundreds of former players who attended his retirement ceremony. “I was overwhelmed that I had this kind of an influence over guys who are now doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists,” said Alessi. “It made me feel pretty good.”