MIT researchers have created an algorithm that outperforms humans when searching for patterns in data sets, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The algorithm uses “raw datasets to make models predicting things such as when a student would be most at risk of dropping an online course.”
Seung Lee writes for Newsweek that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can outperform humans in finding patterns in data sets. The system takes “two to 12 hours for what a human could only do over the course of several months.”
Graduate student Sampriti Bhattacharyya speaks with Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham about her startup Hydroswarm, which is developing teams of underwater drones to map the ocean. “There is so much potential out there. We had a space era. With all the subsea robotics, it could be a new era in ocean exploration,” says Bhattacharyya.
MIT graduate Christine Marcus and Senior Lecturer Bill Aulet speak with Ian Wylie of the Financial Times about entrepreneurship education. Marcus explains that while taking courses at MIT Sloan, she realized that “entrepreneurship is a part of my soul and a very exciting way to impact the world.”
Dan Morrell of The Boston Globe writes about Humanyze, a company founded by visiting scientist Ben Waber, that helps companies gather data about their employees and workspaces to improve efficiency. “Humanyze was founded on the idea that smart management decisions require hundreds of (data-points), if not millions,” Morrell explains.
MIT researchers have developed a new system that can help identify patterns in data sets, reports Tomas Morzon for UPI. The researchers explained that the new system could be a “crucial asset in finding what components of a data set should be analyzed in order to draw conclusions.”
Richard Waters of the Financial Times writes about Prof. David Mindell’s new book, “Our Robots, Ourselves,” which examines robotics and automation. Waters writes that, “Mindell brings an altogether refreshing perspective to a field that can sometimes get lost in the ‘what if.’”
Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman writes that MIT researchers have uncovered how seals use their whiskers to sense their surroundings. The findings could “help aquatic vehicles track schools of fish or sources of pollution.”
Forbes reporter Bruce Dorminey writes about a new MIT study showing that refueling at the moon would make Mars missions more efficient. Prof. Olivier de Weck explains that this strategy could “represent a savings of $5.8 billion per mission.”
In an article for Wired, Cara McGoogan writes about Prof. Hiroshi Ishii’s vision for the future of technology. We need to "envision what kind of future we want to create," explains Ishii. "To inspire people, to make them think differently. Art is so important as a driving force."
John Tirman, executive director of the Center for International Studies, writes for The Boston Globe about U.S. foreign policy missteps in the Middle East. “The Iran deal triumph was the work of arms control experts, not Middle East policy makers," writes Tirman. "The Obama advisers on the Middle East have been unable to anticipate events or respond creatively to them.”
Liz Stinson reports for Wired on Kinetic Blocks, a shape-shifting display developed by MIT researchers that uses 900 computer-controlled pins to manipulate objects. “Hopefully in the future this can be a big versatile engine you can use to control whatever you like,” explains paper co-author Philipp Schoessler.
MIT researchers have engineered viruses that take advantage of quantum physics, mimicking the process of photosynthesis, to enhance energy transfer, reports Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. The work could result in “solar panels that transmit energy with unprecedented efficiency,” writes Ossola.
John Charles, vice president of IS&T, speaks with Josephine Wolff of The Atlantic about the need to protect computer security on university campuses, while still maintaining academic openness. “To support high-velocity collaboration, high-velocity innovation, high-velocity research and do it at scale…we have to make sure we don’t put barriers in place that make it more difficult,” explains Charles.
Prof. Daron Acemoglu discusses the work of Angus Deaton, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics, with Washington Post reporter Ana Swanson. “I think his understanding of how the world worked at the micro level made him extremely suspicious of these get-rich-quick schemes that some people peddled at the development level,” says Acemoglu.