Sebastian Smee reviews Tala Madani’s show “First Light,” which is currently on display at the List Visual Arts Center. “This is a genuinely — and intelligently — provocative show,” writes Smee. “It is no surprise to me that it has been staged by the List Visual Arts Center.”
Prof. Richard Schmalensee speaks with Forbes’ David Slocum about his book “Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms.” Schmalensee explains that the fundamentals of new businesses “are similar to those of old, familiar ones — from how they price, to how they solve the…problem of getting both groups of customers on board. New startups can then learn from old successful ones.”
Wired reporter Liz Stinson writes about the MIT Tangible Media Group’s new shapeshifting interface that can mimic the characteristics of a wide variety of materials. The interface “hints at how materiality could be used to build a tangible bridge between our digital and physical interfaces,” writes Stinson.
Stephanie Couch has been named the new executive director of the Lemelson-MIT program, reports Curt Woodward for The Boston Globe. Woodward notes that Couch “comes to MIT from California State University at East Bay, where she specialized in advancing science, technology, engineering, and math education.”
Graduate student Morris Vanegas spoke with The Boston Globe’s Steve Annear about the series of romantic photos he took with his thesis. “The picture series has been viewed nearly 50,000 times and garnered hundreds of comments,” writes Annear.
Prof. Vladimir Bulović, associate dean for innovation, speaks with Paul McDougall of Scientific American about developing a solar-powered smart phone. “You want something that can be reasonably efficient at a reasonable cost so it doesn’t change the paradigm of what your cell phone costs,” says Bulović.
MIT researchers have developed a device that enables solar cells to convert the sun’s heat into usable energy, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. Griggs explains that “this new method could double the amount of power produced by a given area of solar panels.”
Boston.com reporter Bill Griffith spotlights the 6th Annual Automotive Technology conference at MIT, which is focused on the future of automotive technology and driving.
In a video for The New York Times, James Gorman highlights how researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a robot that can perch on a variety of surfaces. Gorman explains that “perching is the next frontier for tiny flying machines because robots, like birds, bats and insects, can keep going longer if they conserve energy by resting.”
NPR's Martha Bebinger speaks with Prof. Allan Myerson about the system he and his colleagues developed to manufacture drugs on demand. “These are portable units so you can put them on the back of a truck and take them anywhere,” he explains. “If there was an emergency, you could have these little plants located all over.”
The Economist reports that Prof. Daniela Rus and Dr. Shuhei Miyashita have developed a tiny origami robot that can be swallowed and used to collect dangerous items that have been accidentally ingested. “The device is based on foldable robot technology that their team of researchers have been working on for years.”
President Barack Obama honored Prof. Michael Artin and RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson, an MIT Corporation Life Member, with The National Medal of Science. Artin was honored for “leadership in modern algebraic geometry,” and Jackson for her work in “condensed matter physics and particle physics, and science-rooted public policy achievements,” according to AP reporter Darlene Superville.
BBC News reporter Nathan Tauger writes that researchers from MIT and other institutions have created a miniature robot that can perch like an insect. MIT graduate student Moritz Graule explains that perching solves the problem posed by the fact that “hovering microrobots run out of energy really quickly."
MIT researchers have developed a tiny robot that can perch like an insect, writes G. Clay Whittaker for Popular Science. “It's a widely applicable breakthrough that will, for instance, keep future robots perched while they wait for instructions,” Clay explains.
Prof. Daniela Rus speaks on Marketplace Tech about the origami robot that her group developed to serve as a microsurgeon. “This robot is ingestible in the form of a capsule,” explains Rus. “Once the robot reaches the stomach, the robot unfolds and can do interesting tasks.”