Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss and the LIGO team were honored as recipients of the 2016 Breakthrough Prizes during a ceremony in California, reports Lisa Krieger for Mercury News. The LIGO team was honored for their “observation of gravitational waves, a discovery which opens new horizons in astronomy and physics.”
Steven Melendez of NBC News writes that a new system developed by CSAIL researchers can predict the future by examining a photograph. Grad student Carl Vondrick explains that the system’s ability to forecast normal behavior could allow it to be used for applications like self-driving cars.
Wired reporter Liz Stinson writes about Vespers, a series of 3-D printed death masks designed by researchers in the MIT Mediated Matter group. “The team used fluid dynamics modeling software, colorful, translucent resins, and a high-resolution, multi-material 3-D printer to produce hues, forms, and textures that look surprisingly organic—despite the masks’ association with death.”
Boston-area museums swapped Instagram accounts this week to promote and share the plethora of cultural offerings available, reports Steve Annear for The Boston Globe. The Peabody Essex Museum visited the MIT Museum and shared images of Kismet, “art from the Hart Nautical Collection; and Harold Edgerton’s stop-motion photograph the ‘milk-drop coronet.’”
Writing for Nature, James Shorter and Aaron Gitler memorialize Prof. Susan Lindquist’s research on protein folding and its role in human disease. They write that Lindquist was “a visionary who connected concepts across disparate disciplines,” adding that her insights, “paved the way for innovative strategies to treat diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer.”
During The Economist’s weekly podcast, Kenneth Cukier and Paul Markillie discuss how the MIT researchers behind LiquiGlide, a non-stick coating, have developed a way to precisely steer fluid droplets. The new technique could be used in microfluidic devices, in de-icing techniques and to increase the efficiency of condensers.
In an article for the Financial Times, Jayesh Kannan, a graduate student in the Sloan School of Management, discusses how a “beer game” exercise during orientation provided valuable lessons on supply chains and management. The game exemplifies “MIT’s emphasis on education for practical application,” Kannan explains.
Spencer Buell writes for Boston Magazine that hundreds of MIT faculty members have signed an open letter committing to unconditionally rejecting “every form of bigotry, discrimination, hateful rhetoric, and hateful action,” and upholding the “principles of the scientific method, of fact- and reason-based objective inquiry.”
MIT researchers have created a self-driving scooter that can be used both indoors and outdoors, reports Siyi Chen for Quartz. The scooter will “slow down or stop in order to calibrate a new route” when faced with an obstacle, explains Chen.
In an article for The Boston Globe Magazine about how the 2016 presidential election has been a source of anxiety for people around the country, James Sullivan highlights graduate student Maimuna Majumder’s research on post-election stress. “What we’re finding is that stress is not just limited to people that are liberal,” says Majumder. “It is all-encompassing.”
Stephanie Mlot reports for FOX News that MIT researchers have developed a new portable system that can monitor energy usage, and could be useful for both residential and military applications. The system could “not only generate major savings in fuel or power,” Mlot writes, “but it may also safeguard soldiers responsible for base resupply.”
New York Times reporter Paul Vitello writes that Prof. Emeritus Bruce Mazlish, a historian known for his psychoanalytical biographies of world leaders, died at age 93. Mazlish’s “experience teaching European history to young scientists and engineers inspired a lifelong interest in understanding the divide between science and the humanities.”
In this Atlantic video, Caleb Harper, a research scientist at the Media Lab, speaks about how farming will change as more people begin moving to cities. Harper explains that if individuals are enabled to grow fresh food, “then countries that import a lot of their own foods now can start to build up a capacity within their border.”
WGBH reporter Kirk Carapezza explores MIT’s MicroMasters program in Supply Chain Management, which allows students to complete a master’s degree through online and on-campus courses. Student Danaka Porter explains that the program provides an opportunity to “get education from a fantastic university, as well as be able to continue to keep working.”
Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Daron Acemoglu examines how a new administration in Washington, D.C. could impact Turkey’s growth. While the implications “are likely to be dire for the Turkish economy,” Acemoglu adds that “even modest attempts towards a more inclusive economy can spearhead rapid and relatively high-quality growth.”