During a panel discussion during the Koch Institute’s 16th Annual Cancer Research Symposium, participants discussed how the convergence of biology and engineering could accelerate treatments for cancer and other diseases, writes Robert Weisman for the Boston Globe. “To my mind, this is the 21st century’s innovation story,” said President Emerita Susan Hockfield.
Graduate student Erik Duhaime writes for Forbes about his research with Prof. Evan Apfelbaum on political polarization over taxes. Duhaime and Apfelbaum found that, “giving people personalized taxpayer receipts significantly reduced polarization over taxes, even if it didn’t make everyone suddenly thrilled about paying them.”
Deniz Cam of Forbes highlights MIT graduate Mubarik Mohamoud in an article about students from the Abaarso School in Somaliland, which is aimed at educating the country’s next generation of leaders. After a six-month internship, Mohamoud will return to MIT to pursue a master’s degree in computer science.
During a panel discussion held during Times Higher Education’s (THE) World Reputation Forum, Provost Martin Schmidt spoke about the need for universities to relay the value and importance of their work to the public, writes Jon Marcus for THE. “It’s on us to basically frame that in a way that is comprehensible and digestible,” Schmidt explained.
MIT recently piloted a full-credit online course for residential students, reports Nick Roll for Inside Higher Ed. Roll writes that, “a recently released study of the class found students not only performed well but also…reported feeling less stress and having more flexibility.”
Jesse Lichtenstein writes for The New York Times about Jonny Sun, a PhD candidate in DUSP, whose humorous Twitter feed, “jomny sun,” has become increasingly popular for offering “comfort, whimsy and an alternative to the rage/panic/schadenfreude/political flame-warring of much online discourse.” “Twitter is often thought of as a shallow, superficial thing,” said Sun, but “there’s a lot of honest pathos and humanity in it.”
In an article for HuffPost, Michael Shammas highlights Senior Lecturer Jason Jay’s new book, “Breaking Through Gridlock: The Power of Conversation in a Polarized World.” Shammas explains that the book outlines a path to, “improve our ability to hold productive conversations.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Melissa Korn writes that MIT has earned a No. 2 ranking in Times Higher Education’s list of universities with the best reputations.
WBUR’s Rachel Zimmerman reports that Rendever, a startup launched by MIT graduates, has been awarded $40,000 by Pulse@MassChallenge, an accelerator aimed at supporting digital health startups. Rendever developed a virtual reality platform that aims to reduce social isolation and improve mental health, “through technology that allows seniors to relive and remember personal and family experiences and explore new environments.”
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Christopher Warshaw discusses his research, which shows there is not one state where the majority of residents support the American Health Care Act. “Across all the states that voted for President Trump last year, we estimate that support for the A.H.C.A. is rarely over 35 percent."
New York Times reporter Robert Berkvist memorializes the work of A.R. Gurney, a prolific playwright who taught American literature and humanities as a member of the MIT faculty for 36 years. Berkvist writes that in Gurney’s plays “the conventions of the drawing-room comedy became the framework for social analysis.”
In an effort to make it easier for Americans, in particular Latinos, to save for retirement, MIT alumnus Carlos García launched Finhabits, a “bilingual digital platform that gives investment advice and teaches and encourages individuals how to invest and save for retirement,” writes Kristina Puga for CNBC.
Writing for Make, Gareth Branwyn spotlights Adafruit Industries, which was founded by alumna Limor Fried. Fried explains that she believes the success of Adafruit is based on, “being focused on others, having an unconditional belief that you can be both a good cause and a good company, and seeing risk-taking as your friend and your only real competition as yourself.”
Financial Times reporter John Thornhill writes about Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee’s latest book, “Machine, Platform, Crowd.” Thornhill writes that the book is “a clear and crisply written account of machine intelligence, big data and the sharing economy.”
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Gruber writes that proposed cuts to Medicaid will impact a large number of Americans, as the program provides financial resources for elderly and disabled adults. “Nearly two-thirds of [Medicaid] spending is focused on older and disabled adults — primarily through spending on long-term care services such as nursing homes.”