Hannah Kulcher writes for The Financial Times about Jibo, a family robot created by Professor Cynthia Breazeal. “We call it the world’s first family robot as it is really about engagement with people; more like a helpful partner, rather than being a tool,” says Breazeal.
“Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a glass screen that corrects bad vision, without the need for spectacles or contact lenses,” the BBC News reports. “The device is compatible with phones, tablets, TVs and even car dashboards.”
Rona Kobell writes for The Boston Globe writes about her experience at MIT’s annual Food Boot Camp. Attendees “learn about all aspects of food science, from our increasing resistance to antibiotics to why it’s so hard to remove dangerous bacteria from spinach.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Steven Rosenbush interviews Ben Fried, the CIO for Google, about the link between technology and company culture. In his interview, Fried highlights Prof. Alex Pentland’s work measuring social interactions among employees at specific companies, part of an effort to understand what makes teams successful.
Emma Stickgold of The Boston Globe writes about the life and work of Institute Professor Emeritus John S. Waugh, who passed away in August. “His pioneering research expanded the range of nuclear magnetic resonance as he showed how the phenomenon, which previously was used to examine liquids, could also be used to study solids,” writes Stickgold.
Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein of The Boston Globe report that Professor Hugh Herr, postdoctoral associate Xu Liu and graduate student Steve Ramirez were recipients of the 2014 American Ingenuity Awards. Liu and Ramirez were honored for their discoveries on how memories form and Herr for his development of a bionic leg.
Boston Globe reporter Cate McQuaid writes about the growing popularity of performance art at Boston-area museums, highlighting the MIT List Visual Arts Center’s long tradition of presenting the medium. “But the List, at an institution as forward-thinking as MIT, is exceptional,” writes McQuaid.
In an article about new technologies that read people’s desires, Colin Barras of BBC News highlights MIT startup Affectiva, which uses computer programs to judge people’s reactions.
Ian King of Bloomberg Businessweek profiles MIT alumna Lisa Su, the first female CEO of Advanced Micro Devices. Su elected to attend MIT for her doctorate, master’s and bachelor’s degrees as “it was the most difficult challenge she could find” and went on to work for “most of the biggest names in the U.S. semiconductor business,” writes King.
Cesar Hidalgo of the MIT Media Lab spoke at the Wired 2014 conference about the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a tool that produces a visual narrative about countrie and the products they exchange, writes Katie Collins for Wired. "We can work out what products our economies are going to start making and stop making,” says Hidalgo.
The Associated Press reports that Professor Hugh Herr, postdoctoral associate Xi Liu and graduate student Steve Ramirez have been awarded American Ingenuity Awards. Herr was honored for his work “developing a highly functional bionic leg” while Ramirez and Liu were recognized for their work examining how memories form.
Melissa Malamut of Boston Magazine writes that MIT and MGH are forming a new partnership aimed at tackling challenges in clinical medicine. The new collaboration will address three specific areas: disease diagnosis, the prevention and treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases, and the diagnosis and treatment of major neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.
Jeff Foust of Space News writes that President Barack Obama has nominated MIT Professor Dava Newman to become the next deputy administrator of NASA. "Dava will add a unique perspective to the agency and a fresh look at the space program at a critical time,” said Lori Garver, former deputy administrator of NASA.
Boston Magazine reporter Steve Annear writes about how MIT engineers have published a new study showing that the Mars One colonization plans are not feasible without the development of additional technology.
Atlantic reporter Cari Romm reports on how MIT researchers have devised an alternative drug-delivery method: A pill covered with tiny needles. The researchers plan to improve their current design by creating a “fully biodegradable version of the pill.”