In the Media

Thomas Kochan speaks with Sasha Pfeiffer and Anthony Brooks of WBUR about Market Basket employees striking on behalf of ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. Kochan argues the protests offer important lessons to corporate America. 

Professor Kenneth Oye speaks with WBUR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about his recent research that details a new way to alter the genomes of organisms and the need for a public discussion about the potential implications and benefits of this new technology. 

“A new diode laser that can cut metal may soon find its way onto the market, thanks to a few former MIT scientists looking to commercialize their research,” writes Brooke Hays for UPI about Lincoln Laboratory spinout TeraDiode’s multi-kilowatt diode laser system.

Boston Magazine reporter Steve Annear writes about a new robot, designed by MIT undergraduate Patrick McCabe, that can play the game Connect Four. “It’s kind of a magical thing with computer science and technology, being able to leverage that to actually make something smarter than you are,” said McCabe of the device, which can beat its creator.

Stephen Dowling writes for the BBC News about the legacy of former MIT professor of electrical engineering, Harold Edgerton. Edgerton’s pioneering photography work captured detailed images of moments occurring at speeds too high for the human eye to detect.

Kristine Wong reports for Takepart, a division of Participant Media, that "MIT scientists have invented a simple but ingenious device" to generate steam. Gang Chen, who heads MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, explains what makes it work: "First, it’s black in color, so it absorbs the light very effectively. Secondly, it’s porous to allow water to come in. Third, it’s insulating, so it absorbs sunlight and turns it into heat."

Professor Thomas Kochan writes for WBUR’s Cognoscenti about the Market Basket grocery store chain employees striking on behalf of the recently ousted CEO and the lessons corporate America can take from the case. “This type of broad-based, collective action is unprecedented in modern U.S. labor history,” writes Kochan.

Writing for DNews, Tracy Staedter highlights a new spongelike structure developed by MIT's Gang Chen and Hadi Ghasemi to turn sunlight into steam. "The advance could one day lead to an efficient, inexpensive and emission-free way for creating steam that could be used to not only generate steam for energy but also for desalination and sterilization," reports Staedter.

In a piece for The New York Times, Claire Cain Miller writes about a new study showing how the recession accelerated the displacement of midwage jobs. Miller notes research by Professor David Autor highlighting the growing polarization of the workforce. 

Los Angeles Times reporter Geoffrey Mohan writes about a new study, coauthored by researchers from the Broad Institute, that identifies over 100 regions in human DNA that correlate with schizophrenia. “The findings provide substantial support for a genetic root to the disorder and greatly narrow the search for genes that may cause the disease, the authors said,” writes Mohan. 

The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin is presenting Professor Emeritus Otto Piene’s large-scale slide installation The Proliferation of the Sun through Aug. 31, reports The Huffington Post. Piene, the former director of MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies, died shortly after the exhibit opened. 

“In the largest-ever donation to psychiatric research, Connecticut businessman Ted Stanley is giving $650 million to the Eli and Edythe Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard,” reports Curt Nickisch for WBUR.

In a piece for USA Today, Karen Weintraub reports that scientists have identified more than 100 genes connected to schizophrenia. "Most importantly, the goal is not to end up with a list of genes, but with novel treatments,” explains Steven Hyman, director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute. 

In a piece for WBUR, Caroline Erisman writes about a study from MIT researchers showing that elite male faculty tend to hire more men than women when compared to their female counterparts.  “To right that imbalance, we must continue to prepare more women to assume leadership positions in the sciences (and math and engineering too, for that matter),” writes Erisman. 

Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein writes that researchers have discovered more than 100 spots in our DNA tied to schizophrenia. "It's a genetic revelation; schizophrenia has been a mystery," says study co-author Steve McCarroll, director of genetics for the Broad Institute.