In the Media

MIT spinout, Cogito, uses “advanced voice analytics to scrutinize voice tons and speech patterns, not just during customer interactions but also within internal team communications,” reports Andre Shojaie for Forbes. “By providing real-time feedback to representatives, Cogito helps them adjust their emotional tone and empathy levels accordingly,” explains Shojaie. “This application significantly reduces stress and cultivates a supportive work environment by enhancing interpersonal interactions among team members.”

Prof. Larry Gurth and University of Oxford Prof. James Maynard have uncovered a new finding “about how certain polynomials are formed and how they reach out into the number line,” reports Caroline Delbert for Popular Mechanics. Gurth and Maynard “claim they’ve proven [Dirichlet] polynomials have a certain number of large values, or solutions, within a tighter ranger than before.” 

Prof. of the Practice Elisabeth Reynolds speaks with Washington Post reporter David Lynch about the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce dependance on Chinese equipment such as ship-to-shore cranes.  "In the face of China as an economic and political and national security threat, we have to rethink some strategies,” says Reynolds. “And regardless of the product and regardless of the country, we don't want to be beholden to a monopoly supplier. That's a bad strategy.”

Prof. Richard Binzel speaks with Popular Science reporter Briley Lewis about how frequently asteroids come close to Earth. "I would be worried if we weren’t taking the asteroid survey challenge seriously,” says Binzel. "NASA and its funding sources are stepping up to the adult responsibility of doing the necessary searching to make sure our asteroid future is secure.” 

Writing for Scientific American, graduate student Jerry Lu and his colleagues explore the mathematics, physics, and sensor technology that have revolutionized competitive swimming. “Today the advent of sensor technology has turned this idea into a reality in which mathematics and physics produce useful information so that coaches can ‘precision-train’ 2024 Olympic hopefuls,” writes Lu. “The results have been enormously successful.”

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Scientific American reporter Chelsea Harvey about the future of hurricane forecasting and preparations. “I can’t predict the future, but I’m optimistic that things will get better,” says Emanuel. “And you’ll see people moving away from risky places, which is already beginning to happen. And those who elect to stay [will be] paying a lot of insurance or retrofitting houses to be built stronger.”

Explaining China’s increasing advantage over the U.S. in fusion technology, Prof. Dennis Whyte is interviewed for a Wall Street Journal article by Jennifer Hiller and Sha Hua. Noting China took just 10 years to build world-class fusion research facilities, Whyte says “it was almost like a flash that they were able to get there. Don’t underestimate their capabilities about coming up to speed.”

Forbes reporter Ulrich Boser spotlights Prof. Rosalind Picard and her work toward advancing “the capability of computers to recognize human emotions.” “AI can enhance learning, and chatbots can supplement many aspects of teaching and tutoring but true success lies in establishing better tutoring platforms to support – not replace – teachers,” writes Boser. 

Prof. Emerita Mary-Lou Pardue, a cellular and molecular biologist whose work “formed the foundation for key advancements and discoveries in understanding the structure of chromosomes,” has died at age 90, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Pardue “was a role model of what women in science can be at a time when there weren’t a lot of those, and a trailblazer as a woman,” emphasizes Ky Lowenhaupt, manager of the Biophysical Instrumentation Facility at MIT, “but also a trailblazer as a scientist who didn’t do things along the path that other people took.”

Writing for The Financial Times, Prof. Esther Duflo makes the case that the following the legislative elections in France, politicians must come up with a new vision for the country that “combines production, redistribution and protection of the environment; that promotes respect and dignity of all people; that has the courage to lead the way on the big projects that France, Europe and the world need. Chief among them: fiscal reform, a just green transition, and a way to distribute the gains of growth in a more equitable way to all.”

Prof. Nancy Rose speaks with NPR’s Planet Money hosts Erika Beras and Kenny Malone about the impact of airline deregulation and the aircraft industry. “We need these kind of smaller carriers who want to grow, who want to go in and take share from the majors because they're the ones that are keeping the price pressure on,” says Rose. 

Knight Science Journalism program director Deborah Blum joins guest host Diana Plasker on NPR’s “Science Friday” to share summer science book recommendations. When asked what types of books are popular, Blum says “I think that people just remain fascinated by some of the ways that science makes the world more interesting, more beautiful. People are always drawn to the kind of books that allow you to look at the world in a new way and kind of go, wow.” 

Research Scientist Eva Ponce, director of Online Education for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, speaks with Supply Chain Management Review reporter Bridget McCrea about the growing demand for professional certifications in the field of supply chain management. “There’s going to be a bigger emphasis on ‘crafting your own educational pathway,’” says Ponce of the future of executive supply chain education, “and with more emphasis on lifelong learning.”

MIT scientists studying parrots have discovered higher intelligence than previously thought, with some birds besting five-year-old children at logic games. With a tablet computer, parrots “have even figured out how to communicate using modern video conferencing technology,” writes Mack DeGeurin for Popular Science. When shown pictures of other parrots they had previously chatted with, “the parrots repeatedly requested to chat with their long-distance friends.”

Reuters reporter Felix Martin highlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s research demonstrating how AI may not help improve productivity in the developed world.  Acemoglu has found that broad productivity growth from reasonable estimates of AI replacing humans in the workplace “would increase by only around half a percentage point over 10 years. That is barely a third of the ground lost since 2008,” Martin explains.