In the Media

“Rodrigo Arboleda, and MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte, ‘launched a campaign that aims to provide the children of Latin America – rich and poor alike- with laptop computers to help promote their education and development.’” - (Registration required to view full article)

“(MIT) Neuroengineer Ed Boyden is best known for his pioneering work on optogenetics, which allows brain cells to be controlled using light. A speaker at the TED2011 conference this week, his vision, he tells Rowan Hooper, is nothing less than to understand the brain, treat neural conditions and figure out the basis of human existence.”

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference bullets - For a brief recap of some of the MIT Sports Analytics Conference most noteworthy news, check out this summary with links to additional articles.

When 140 characters just aren’t enough - “In author-social scientist Sherry Turkle's latest book, ‘Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other,’ the MIT professor lays bare over 15 years' worth of research in which she examines a rising anxiety in young people, particularly when they don't update Facebook enough.”

Robot Opera and Immortality - “(MIT’s Tod) Machover, known as ‘America’s most wired composer’ and director of the Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab, thinks of his character Simon Powers, as ‘a combination of Howard Hughes, Walt Disney and Bill Gates,’ who rather than wanting to live forever, desired ‘to leave the world, but leave everything about himself here.’”

Print in another dimension - “In December, MIT Media Lab researcher Amit Zoran used an Objet Connex 500 — which resembles the larger ink-jet printers in most offices — to print a working flute made of plastic.”

“The new institute here is taking an innovative approach by uniting cancer scientists and engineers under one roof — an approach that the institute’s director, Tyler Jacks, who is also the David H. Koch Professor of Biology, said should yield results.”

“Co-chaired by Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets and an MIT Sloan alumnus, and Patriots vice president Jessica Gelman, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference draws big names to share big ideas in the areas of advanced statistical metrics, innovation, and technology.”

“The M.I.T. Energy Conference has established itself as a popular destination for industry wonks, venture capitalists and freelance energy geeks looking for a glimpse into how techno-visionaries hope to solve a daunting problem: providing energy for the planet’s six billion people reliably, affordably and, ideally, without making a mess.”

“The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT is a bold statement that a university with no medical school intends to remain at the vanguard of fighting cancer. The premium address reflects a universitywide commitment, staked out by MIT president Susan Hockfield, to make cancer exploration a cornerstone of the school in this century.”

"'MIT has a longstanding interest generally in the interface among science, technology, and art,' said John Durant, director of the MIT Museum.”

“The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, an independent lab affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranks No. 1 on The Scientist’s latest ranking of the best places for postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences to work in the United States.”

Cellphone Networks and the Future of Traffic - “The future of mobile sensing isn’t limited to traffic monitoring. The CarTel project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated the use of accelerometers mounted on a fleet of a local limo company to detect and map potholes.”

"Enter Talaris, the Terrestrial Autonomous Lunar Reduced Gravity System, a prototype robot under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in partnership with the non-profit Draper Lab. Rather than wheels, Talaris would use chemical rocket thrusters to launch itself off a planetary surface, hover, fly to a new location and gently lower itself to the ground again."

“Meet physics professor Ernest Moniz from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Moniz is not just a world-renowned scientist, but also an expert in policy who served in President Clinton’s administration and now is on President Obama’s council of advisers on science and technology.”