Emma Stickgold of The Boston Globe writes about the life and work of Institute Professor Emeritus John S. Waugh, who passed away in August. “His pioneering research expanded the range of nuclear magnetic resonance as he showed how the phenomenon, which previously was used to examine liquids, could also be used to study solids,” writes Stickgold.
Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein of The Boston Globe report that Professor Hugh Herr, postdoctoral associate Xu Liu and graduate student Steve Ramirez were recipients of the 2014 American Ingenuity Awards. Liu and Ramirez were honored for their discoveries on how memories form and Herr for his development of a bionic leg.
Boston Globe reporter Cate McQuaid writes about the growing popularity of performance art at Boston-area museums, highlighting the MIT List Visual Arts Center’s long tradition of presenting the medium. “But the List, at an institution as forward-thinking as MIT, is exceptional,” writes McQuaid.
In an article about new technologies that read people’s desires, Colin Barras of BBC News highlights MIT startup Affectiva, which uses computer programs to judge people’s reactions.
Ian King of Bloomberg Businessweek profiles MIT alumna Lisa Su, the first female CEO of Advanced Micro Devices. Su elected to attend MIT for her doctorate, master’s and bachelor’s degrees as “it was the most difficult challenge she could find” and went on to work for “most of the biggest names in the U.S. semiconductor business,” writes King.
Cesar Hidalgo of the MIT Media Lab spoke at the Wired 2014 conference about the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a tool that produces a visual narrative about countrie and the products they exchange, writes Katie Collins for Wired. "We can work out what products our economies are going to start making and stop making,” says Hidalgo.
The Associated Press reports that Professor Hugh Herr, postdoctoral associate Xi Liu and graduate student Steve Ramirez have been awarded American Ingenuity Awards. Herr was honored for his work “developing a highly functional bionic leg” while Ramirez and Liu were recognized for their work examining how memories form.
Melissa Malamut of Boston Magazine writes that MIT and MGH are forming a new partnership aimed at tackling challenges in clinical medicine. The new collaboration will address three specific areas: disease diagnosis, the prevention and treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases, and the diagnosis and treatment of major neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.
Jeff Foust of Space News writes that President Barack Obama has nominated MIT Professor Dava Newman to become the next deputy administrator of NASA. "Dava will add a unique perspective to the agency and a fresh look at the space program at a critical time,” said Lori Garver, former deputy administrator of NASA.
Boston Magazine reporter Steve Annear writes about how MIT engineers have published a new study showing that the Mars One colonization plans are not feasible without the development of additional technology.
Atlantic reporter Cari Romm reports on how MIT researchers have devised an alternative drug-delivery method: A pill covered with tiny needles. The researchers plan to improve their current design by creating a “fully biodegradable version of the pill.”
Jean Tirole, an MIT alumnus and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics, speaks with Binyamin Appelbaum of The New York Times about his research on government regulation. Tirole explains that he began his research in the field as a graduate student at MIT.
Aviva Rutkin writes for New Scientist about an infrared navigation system developed by graduate student Dhruv Jain that helps visually impaired people find their way. Roshini, or “Light” in Hindi, gives audio directions to users telling them where to step and warning them of hazards.
Chelsea Rice of Boston.com writes about OpenBiome, a non-profit stool bank founded by MIT postdoctoral associate Mark Smith. OpenBiome collects and stores donations for fecal transplants for 122 hospitals in 33 states.
New Scientist reporter Paul Marks examines new findings from a team of MIT researchers who have assessed the Mars One colonization plans. The researchers found that “if crop growth provides 100 per cent of the settlement's food, the system will produce unsafe oxygen levels in the habitat," says graduate student Sydney Do.