Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee write for BBC News about how advances in automation and robotics can aid in the creation of new and better jobs for humans. They write that the answer “is not to slow the pace of technological progress, but to speed up our institutions so that entrepreneurs, managers and workers alike can thrive.”
President L. Rafael Reif speaks with Fortune’s Erika Fry about Lubna Olayan, CEO and deputy chairperson of Olayan Financing Co., who was named to Fortune’s list of Most Powerful Women. Reif says that Olayan’s mental nimbleness is “an asset and a gift that few people have."
The last leg of the “Tour De Force” bike ride from New York to Boston, which was held in honor of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was named for Officer Sean Collier, Karyn Regal reports for CBS Boston. MIT Police Officer Dusty Miller called the ride a “great tribute” to Collier.
Karen Weintraub writes for The Boston Globe about Prof. Ki Ann Goosens’ work examining the intersection of stress and mental illness. Weintraub explains that Goosens’ latest work looks at whether the medications used to treat PTSD make biological sense.
Boston.com reporter Megan Turchi writes that MIT researchers have developed a map that compares the cost of living and minimum wage for households across the U.S. Prof. Amy Glasmeier explains that one of her goals for the map is to “to inspire policy makers to step up and ensure their wage scales were livable.”
MIT and BU are teaming up on a new effort to provide legal clinics for students needing assistance with startups or technology projects, reports Karen Sloan for The National Law Journal. While entrepreneurship clinics are a growing trend at law schools, writes Sloan, “the cross-university component of MIT and Boston Law’s new clinic is unusual."
Daily Free Press reporters Keela Sweeney and Christy Osler write that MIT and BU are collaborating on a new program to assist students with legal issues related to business and innovation. “This is an important step forward in our efforts to support all MIT students as they imagine, innovate and create,” says MIT Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.
Olga Kharif writes for Bloomberg Businessweek that MIT researchers have proposed a new design for a smaller and cheaper fusion reactor. The prototype "builds on the design of fusion reactors that use magnetic fields to squeeze superhot plasma, fusing atoms of hydrogen to produce energy."
Architect David Adjaye has been named the recipient of the 2016 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, writes Mark Shanahan for The Boston Globe. The prize “includes an artist residency at MIT next spring during which Adjaye will participate in four programs open to the public.”
MIT and Boston University are joining forces to provide law clinics for student entrepreneurs looking for legal advice, reports Katherine Nazemi for The Tech. “There’s opportunity for students to drop in and say ‘I don’t know if I need help or not, but this is what I’m doing, what do you think?’” explains Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.
Graduate student Jeffrey Rosenblum participates in a discussion on WBUR’s Radio Boston about biking in Boston. Rosenblum argues that people need more transportation options so they can “drive for the trips that make sense to drive, and they can bike for the trips that make sense to bike, and take transit.”
Boston Globe reporter Mark Feeney writes about photographer Ulrich Wüst’s show at the MIT Museum, his first exhibit in the U.S. Feeney writes that the wonder of Wüst’s show is “how diverse it is in subject matter…yet how consistent in spirit.”
In this video, Ben Gruber reports for Reuters on an MIT robot that is controlled by an operator wearing an exoskeleton. Prof. Sangbae Kim explains that his motivation was to develop “the best robot for disasters where we can actually use robots instead of risking human life.”
Jon Christian reports for The Boston Globe on FitSocket, a device created by researchers in MIT’s Biomechatronics group that gathers data used to create personalized prosthetic sockets. “We’re treating the body as a mechanical thing, because it is,” explains graduate student Arthur Petron.
LinkedIn Next Wave, LinkedIn’s list of 150 professionals selected for their transformative work, features a number of MIT alumni and researchers, reports Jessica Geller for BetaBoston.