Undergraduate student Kendree Chen has been named one of the 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. “This year’s group, the 61st in the program’s history, consisted of 161 outstanding high school seniors, who were selected for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields as well as for commitments to community service and leadership,” explains Nietzel.
Researchers at MIT have developed magnetic transistors, “which could enable faster and more energy-efficient semiconductors,” reports Alex Knapp for Forbes. “Researchers have been trying to use magnets this way for years, but the materials used so far haven’t been optimal for computing functions,” explains Knapp. “That changed after experimenting with chromium sulfur bromide, which replaces the silicon in a conventional microchip and enables the transistors to be switched on and off with an electric current.”
Prof. Pierre Azoulay speaks with WBUR’s Martha Bebinger about a new study examining the potential impact of NIH budget cuts on the development of new medicines. Azoulay and his colleagues found that “more than half of drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 used NIH-funded research that would likely not have happened if the NIH had operated with a 40% smaller budget,” Bebinger explains.
Prof. Caitlin Mueller has been named Innovator of the Year by Architectural Record for her work advancing a “vision for building design and construction that unites these disciplines with computation to create structure that are sustainable, high performing, and delightful,” reports Architectural Record. “Her group develops computational design and digital fabrication methods that integrate efficiency, performance, material circularity, and architectural expression,” Architectural Record notes. “This work spans robotic assembly of optimized trusses, fabrication of low-cost earthen and concrete systems, and algorithmic strategies for reusing salvaged wood and reassembled concrete parts.”
The MIT Museum presents “Remembering the Future,” a new installation by artist Janet Echelman in collaboration with Prof. Caitlin Mueller, reports Kat Barandy for DesignBoom. The installation suspends above the museum’s grand lobby and will be open to the public through fall 2027. “The work transforms climate data into a three-dimensional form that invites visitors to engage both visually and conceptually,” Barandy explains.
Visiting Scholar Ariel Ekblaw SM '17, PhD '20 speaks with WBUR’s On Point host Meghna Chakrabarti about her academic career, the space industry and her new non-profit company the Aurelia Institute. The company is “dedicated to building humanity’s future in space for the benefit of the earth,” says Chakrabarti. Additionally, the company plans to use “space infrastructure, satellites, and large scale space structures in orbit to do really profound things for day-to-day life on Earth,” adds Ekblaw.
Institute Prof. Daron Acemoglu participated in a “global dialogue on artificial intelligence governance” at the United Nations, reports Steve Lohr for The New York Times. “The AI quest is currently focused on automating a lot of things, sidelining and displacing workers,” says Acemoglu.
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that more than half of the drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 are connected to NIH research that would be impacted by proposed 40 percent budget cuts, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
Researchers from MIT and Stanford tracked 11 large language models during the 2024 presidential campaign, and found that “AI models answered differently overtime… [and] they changed in response to events, prompts, and even demographic cues,” reports Ron Schmelzer for Forbes.
Fierce Biotech reporter Darren Incorvaia writes that a new study by MIT researchers demonstrates how potential NIH budget cuts could endanger the development of new medications. The researchers found that if the NIH budget had been 40% smaller from 1980 to 2007, the level of NIH cuts currently being proposed, “the science underlying numerous drugs approved in the 21st century would not have been funded,” Incorvaia explains. The findings suggest that “massive cuts of the kind that are being contemplated right now could endanger the intellectual foundations of the drugs of tomorrow,” explains Professor Pierre Azoulay.
Researchers at MIT have found that up to 98% of the energy produced by an earthquake dissipates as heat, reports Stephanie Pappas for Scientific American, who notes that the findings could be used to help create better earthquake forecasts. The researchers “created itty-bitty lab earthquakes by pressing centimeter-sized wafers of a powdered granite and magnetic particle mixture between aluminum pistons until the wafers slipped or snapped,” explains Pappas. “They measured this process of cracking under stress with thermometers and piezoelectric sensors that mimic the seismographs used to measure real earthquakes.”
According to the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2025-2026, MIT has been named the No. 2 best university in the United States, reports Madison Lucchesi for Boston.com.
Prof. Linda Griffith speaks with Nature reporter Cassandra Willyard about her work developing lab-made organoids to help study the root causes of endometriosis. Griffith has been working to develop “a model of abnormal endometrial tissue that the researchers can use to test therapies for the condition,” writes Willyard. “Because blood vessels are crucial to maintaining this tissue, Griffith knew she wanted to include them. To do this, she and her colleagues placed the organoid on a microfluidic chip surrounded by cells that form blood vessels.”
Fast Company reporter Elizabeth Segran spotlights “Remembering the Future,” a sculpture on display at the MIT Museum. The piece was created by artist Janet Echelman and “inspired by climate data guided scientists at MIT,” writes Segran. “The sculpture is “made from thousands of feet of plastic twine falls from the ceiling. Each strand of fiber represents the temperature of the planet over a period of time and the color signifies how hot it is, with blue and greens reflecting cooler climates than the reds and oranges. The sculpture goes all the way back to the ice age, but the most thought provoking part is our current moment, represented by a single yellow piece of twine. It then spreads out into a broad web that represents future centuries: Based on how we act right now, the future could look shockingly red or a calmer blue.”
Edward Woodford SM '15 founded Zerohash, a crypto and stablecoin infrastructure company, aimed at helping “financial institutions and fintechs build out their own products for stablecoins, crypto trading, and tokenization,” reports Ben Weiss for Fortune. “Over eight years, Woodford has managed to ride multiple crypto booms and busts,” writes Weiss. “It’s not just that we’re a survivor,” says Woodford. “We’ve actually thrived in that market, and actually now, I think we can accelerate that even further.”