In the Media

Boston Globe reporter Travis Andersen writes reports that Michael Bloomberg – an entrepreneur, philanthropist and former mayor of New York City – will deliver MIT’s 2019 Commencement address.

Popular Mechanics reporter David Grossman writes that MIT researchers have developed a conceptual design for storing renewable energy for the grid in tanks of white-hot molten silicon. The researchers estimate that their system, “would cost around half as much as the current cheapest form of renewable energy ready to scale out to an entire grid.”

Prof. Julie Shah and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speak with Miles O’Brien of the PBS NewsHour about how robots can be used to augment human capabilities in the workplace. Shah explains that she is developing technology that enables robots to “integrate and work effectively with the person, so that they can accomplish the task together.”

Reporting for WBUR, Amelia Mason spotlights a collaboration between graduate student Ben Bloomberg and Jacob Collier, a singer and former MIT artist-in-residence. Bloomberg explains that he and Collier aim to use technology as a means to augment human capabilities, explaining that, “technology should do things that technology is good at, and the people should do things that people are good at.”

Prof. Aleksander Madry and graduate student Anish Athalye speak with BBC News reporter Linda Geddes about how AI systems can be tricked into seeing or hearing things that aren’t actually there. “People are looking at it as a potential security issue as these systems are increasingly being deployed in the real world,” Athalye explains.

Prof. Eric Klopfer speaks with Jane Clayson of WBUR’s On Point about whether parents should be concerned about the growing popularity of the videogame “Fortnite.” Klopfer says he feels the game has some educational value, noting that the game presents kids with the opportunity to partake in, “solving open-ended problems, communicating around complex issues [and] trying to work within systems.”

Media Lab researchers have created a new robotic plant, dubbed Elowan, that acts like a light sensor, reports Katharine Schwab for Fast Company. Schwab explains that the new plant-robot hybrid, “shows that technologists can use signals that already exist in nature–like the plant’s light-sensing capacity–to create an entirely new kind of organic interface.”

Motherboard reporter Caroline Haskins writes that Media Lab researchers have developed a new plant-robot hybrid that uses electrodes, a robot and wheels so that it can move itself towards light. Haskins explains that “bioelectrochemical signals from the plant that respond to light…are routed to a robot underneath the plant, and wheels take the plant to a spot best-suited for its survival.”

Writing for The Conversation, Prof. Henry Jacoby and research scientist Jennifer Morris explain that in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, countries must take immediate action to curb emissions. “Negotiated deals and national decisions made in these few months may determine whether or not the world’s nations will get on track to meeting this global challenge,” they write.

Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher Mims writes about graduate student J. Daniel Kim’s research on the economics of entrepreneurship, specifically what happened to 4,400 high-tech startups acquired by large companies. Kim found that, “within the first three years after an acquisition, 60% of employees at a startup have left.”

A study by MIT researcher provides evidence that large-scale corn production in the U.S. impacts weather patterns, reports Eric J. Wallace for Atlas Obscura. “By increasing yields,” writes Wallace, “farmers have unintentionally created weather patterns that seem to be protecting their crops and helping them grow more corn.”

Washington Post reporter Peter Holley highlights MIT startup Superpedestrian, which is developing an electric scooter that is “capable of operating on a single charge for several days, self-diagnosing mechanical problems and removing itself from circulation using ‘vehicle intelligence.’”

Researchers from the LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaborations have detected four new black hole collisions, including the largest black hole merger detected, reports Ryan Mandelbaum for Gizmodo. Researchers have begun cataloguing “black hole collisions to tell the broader story about how often these massive crashes occur and what causes them.”

BBC News reporter Jonathan Amos writes that LIGO (operated by MIT and Caltech) and Virgo researchers have detected gravitational waves emanating from the largest black hole merger ever detected. Amos notes the discovery was announced by the collaboration as part of an “expanded catalogue” of detections that “tells us something about the probable future successes of the laser laboratories.”

Writing for The Washington Post, research scientist Ashley Nunes examines GM’s announcement that it will eliminate thousands of jobs and halt production at several plants in North America. Nunes writes that, “Given the hurdles, political and otherwise, facing electric and autonomous vehicles, some may question the wisdom of GM’s recent announcement.”