Gizmodo reporter Dharna Noor writes that a new report by MIT researchers finds that U.S. electricity demand could be met with currently available carbon-free technologies. The researchers found that “the best way to move the country to 100% carbon-free energy is to implement a nationwide plan, rather than taking a state-by-state or regional approach.”
Prof. Sinan Aral’s new book, “The Hype Machine,” has been selected as one of the best books of the year about AI by Wired. Gilad Edelman notes that Aral’s book is “an engagingly written shortcut to expertise on what the likes of Facebook and Twitter are doing to our brains and our society.”
Fast Company reporter Elizabeth Segran spotlights the work of alumna Amanda Parkes, the chief innovation officer for Pangaia, which is focused on finding an alternative to plastic-based fibers.
Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with Danny Crichton of TechCrunch about his new book, “The Hype Machine,” which explores the future of social media. Aral notes that he believes a starting point “for solving the social media crisis is creating competition in the social media economy.”
Forbes contributor Rob Toews spotlights the work of Professor Daniela Rus, the deputy dean of research for the Schwarzman College of Computing and director of CSAIL; graduate student Joy Buolamwini; and former MIT postdoc Rana el Kaliouby for their work shaping the future of AI. “They also serve as role models for the next generation of AI leaders, reflecting what a more inclusive AI community can and should look like," writes Toews.
Prof. Yossi Sheffi speaks with Wall Street Journal reporters Sarah Krouse, Jared S. Hopkins and Ana Wilde Mathews about the challenges posed by distributing the Covid-19 vaccine across the country. “Everything has to come together—the packaging, the dry ice, the vials, the material itself. It all has to come together to the same place and have enough of it and exactly the right people there ready to take it,” says Sheffi. “Right now, there’s no conductor to the symphony,” just many parts that each need to work.
Writing for Wired, Will Knight spotlights how MIT researchers developed a new technique to squeeze an AI vision algorithm onto a low-power computer chip that can run for months on a battery. The advance “could help bring more advanced AI capabilities, like image and voice recognition, to home appliances and wearable devices, along with medical gadgets and industrial sensors.”
Physics World selected a study by researchers from MIT’s LIGO Lab that shows quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects as large as the mirrors of the LIGO observatory as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of the year. “The research could lead to the improved detection of gravitational waves by LIGO, Virgo and future observatories,” notes Hamish Johnston for Physics World.
Research scientist Matthias Winkenbach discusses the difficulties posed by massively scaling up capacity to deal with a surge in online shopping caused by the holidays and the Covid-19 pandemic. “I think especially this time of the year and under these circumstances, maybe also the consumers need to reconsider whether everything they order on Amazon or elsewhere needs to be delivered as fast as possible,” says Winkenbach, “or whether there’s certain things to prioritize and other things to deprioritize.”
CBS News reporter Sophie Lewis spotlights NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli '05 and Kate Rubins, a former researcher at MIT’s Whitehead Institute, noting that they are training for the upcoming Artemis missions, which will "send the first woman to walk on the moon."
GBH reporter Esteban Bustillos spotlights former MIT women’s basketball coach Sonia Raman, who recently made the jump to coaching in the NBA. “I think that her legacy of creating just an incredible culture is gonna continue because I think these seniors and these juniors want to continue to perpetuate that,” says interim head coach Meghan O’Connell. “And it’s ingrained in them.”
Prof. Ceasar McDowell speaks with Fast Company reporter Mark Wilson about the importance of designing for communities and not individuals in order to help create a more equitable future. "We're living in a system that really is unequal," says McDowell. "As long as we continue to design things so that they fit what's prominently on the market today, we're going to continue to support that inequality."
Symmetry Magazine reporter Sarah Charley writes that a new study co-authored by MIT postdoc Xiaojun Yao examines how quantum computing could advance our understanding of quantum processes. Yao explored how “the properties of a heavy particle could be impacted after it traversed through a quark-gluon plasma,” and after several months of testing was able to “demonstrate that these kinds of calculations are already feasible on today’s quantum computers.”
Forbes contributor Angelica Krystle Donati spotlights MIT startup Clockworks Analytics, which “leverages existing products installed in buildings such as thermostats, building automation devices, and other sensors and focuses on generating sophisticated analytics based on that data.”
Writing for Greentech Media, Jason Deign spotlights a new study by Prof. Jessika Trancik that examines the rising costs of new nuclear plants. The researchers found that “the main reason for spiraling nuclear plant construction bills is soft costs, the indirect expenses related to activities such as engineering design, purchasing, planning, scheduling and — ironically — estimating and cost control.”