“The prize for astrophysics goes to Alan Guth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Andrei Linde of Stanford University, and Alexei Starobinsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow,” writes Malcolm Ritter for The Associated Press about this year’s Kavli recipients.
Professor Alan Guth has been awarded the prestigious Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, reports Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe. Guth received the award for his work on the theory of cosmic inflation.
Anant Agarwal, an MIT electrical engineering and computer science professor who has served as CEO of edX since its establishment, sat down with The Crimson to recount the challenges of creating courses for an online learning environment, discuss how the non-profit can become self-sustaining, and speculate about what the future might hold for edX. EdX is a not-for-profit venture in online learning launched jointly by MIT and Harvard in May 2012.
Teo Kermeliotis and Jessica Ellis write about Sloan alumnus Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, CEO of Wecyclers, a company aimed at solving waste management issues in Lagos, Nigeria. Wecyclers rewards households that participate in recycling with SMS points that can be redeemed for rewards.
A. J. McCarthy writes for Slate about the CityHome mechanical closet developed by Media Lab researchers that is designed to save space in small, urban apartments. The CityHome includes a bed, kitchen appliances, and storage compartments that respond to voice and touch.
New York Times reporter John Markoff discusses the challenges of self-driving cars with Professor John Leonard. “I have amazing respect for Google, but I do worry about public misunderstanding of what has been accomplished," says Leonard.
MIT will name an asteroid after 16-year-old Jonah Butler for his work transforming byproducts of agricultural waste into renewable energy, reports FOX 25 reporter Paul Blume.
"I'm not really nervous. Of course, once I get out an hour over the ocean for the first time and all I can see is blue, that might change a little," says MIT student Matt Guthmiller in this Huffington Post article.
Professor John Leonard speaks with Bloomberg TV about Google’s self-driving car and the advanced mapping and sensor technology that allows the car to operate.
Matt Rocheleau of The Boston Globe reports on how the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have established a new seed fund that will, “help pay for faculty and scientists at the two schools to embark on new research endeavors.”
Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray reports on the 50th anniversary of MIT’s Project MAC. “When this started in 1963, the dream was to let multiple people use computers simultaneously,” Daniela Rus explains. “Fifty years later we’re now in a world where we find computing indispensable.”
"Now researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Michigan have devised a way in which graphene can be grown directly onto an insulator like glass or silicon,” writes Dexter Johnson of IEEE Spectrum. The method could be used to manufacture interactive screens, said Professor A. John Hart.
Joi Ito, director of the Media Lab, speaks with Marcus Wohlsen of Wired about, “the phenomenon of convergence, where bits from the digital realm are fusing with atoms here in the physical world.”
Matt Guthmiller will attempt to be the youngest person to fly solo around the world, reports Melissa Mahan of FOX 25. "Flying was just kind of one of those things that I always wanted to do for as long as I can remember and a few years ago I finally started doing it," explains Guthmiller.
Senior Kirin Sinha discusses her after-school program SHINE for Girls with CBS News. SHINE uses dance to help teach math and science to young girls.