In the Media

James Gorman features the work of former MIT Professor Sebastian Seung. Gorman highlights Seung’s work with the citizen science game EyeWire at MIT. 

CNN features a new park bench from the Media Lab designed to use solar energy to charge mobile devices. Researchers hope that technologies like the solar-powered bench will help cities use energy more efficiently.

Shira Springer interviews Dr. Kim Blair, founding director of MIT’s Sports Innovation Program, for this Boston Globe article on wearable technology for athletes. “When wearables become ubiquitous and part of our lives, that’s when they’ve really arrived,” said Blair.

In a piece for The Boston Globe, Kevin Hartnett writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technique for transforming fog into drinking water. 

Writing for The Boston Globe, Esther Shein reports on how freshman Mat Guthmiller is on a quest to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world. 

“Researchers at MIT have teamed up with The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values to launch an iPhone app called 20 Day Stranger, which connects two anonymous strangers for 20 days,” writes Emily Thomas of The Huffington Post. 

CBS Boston reports on freshman Matt Guthmiller, who is attempting to be the youngest person to fly solo around the world. Through his flight, Guthmiller hopes to raise funds for technology education. 

“The dynamic at the Federal Reserve may be about to change,” writes Sara Eisen of CNBC about MIT alumnus and former professor Stanley Fischer’s appointment to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. “Fischer's presence is likely to change the shape of the Fed in a variety of ways.”

Wired reporter Katie Collins writes that researchers from MIT and NASA have demonstrated the potential of wireless broadband to reach the Moon. “The two organisations have demonstrated for the first time that data communication technology is capable of providing those in space with the same kind of connectivity we enjoy on Earth,” Collins writes. 

New York Times reporter Adam Bryant interviews Tom Leighton about how his time teaching as an MIT professor influenced his management style in his current role as CEO of Akamai. 

In an article for The Washington Post, Jim Tankersley reports on a new Science article by Professor David Autor. In the article Autor contends that inequality, driven by varying levels of education, has risen dramatically among the 99 percent.

Wall Street Journal reporter Brenda Cronin features David Autor’s new research on inequality. “Two ‘destructive’ points that Mr. Autor tries to skewer with his most recent work are the idea that prospects are dim for all but the financial elite—and the notion that too many students are giving rise to a “college bubble,” Cronin writes. 

In an article for Forbes, Yevgeniy Feyman and Fil Babalievsky report on new research from Professor Jonathan Gruber that tackles the question of how competition among insurers impacts premium rates. 

“Previously Fischer taught at the University of Chicago and MIT, where his students included former Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers,” writes Don Lee of The Los Angeles Times about Stanley Fischer’s appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 

In an article for The Boston Globe, Bloomberg News reports that former professor and MIT alumnus Stanley Fischer was confirmed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by the Senate. Fischer previously served as the governor of the Bank of Israel.