President L. Rafael Reif speaks with Laura Krantz at The Chronicle of Higher Education editor Laura Krantz about his time leading MIT and addresses questions about how he approached the role. “Stay in touch with faculty, stay in touch with students, find ways to hear from them directly, to be out there,” said Reif. “Don’t stay in your office waiting to hear what some people want to tell you.”
Prof. Peter Shor and three other researchers have won the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work in the field of quantum information, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. Shor “invented the first quantum computer algorithm that was clearly useful. Shor’s algorithm can find the factors of large numbers exponentially faster than is thought to be possible for any classical algorithm,” the Breakthrough Foundation noted in its citation.
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation has named Prof. Peter Shor one of the four winners for the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his work in the field of quantum information, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. “The laureates honored today embody the remarkable power of fundamental science,” says Yuri Milner, one of the prize founders. “Both to reveal deep truths about the Universe, and to improve human lives.”
Prof. Peter Shor, an expert in quantum algorithms, has been named one of four recipients for the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, reports Ian Sample for The Guardian.
Prof. Peter Shor has been named one of four honorees for this year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his contributions to the field of quantum information, reports Daniel Garisto for Scientific American. All of Shor’s work, “led to new views of quantum mechanics and computing,” writes Garisto.
Prof. Cynthia Breazeal discusses her work exploring how artificial intelligence can help students impacted by Covid, including refugees or children with disabilities, reports Ryan Heath for Politico. “We want to be super clear on what the role is of the robot versus the community, of which this robot is a part of. That's part of the ethical design thinking,” says Breazeal. “We don't want to have the robot overstep its responsibilities. All of our data that we collect is protected and encrypted.”
Prof. Peter Shor is one of four winners for this year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, reports Zeeya Merali for Nature. Merali writes that Shor’s research “laid the groundwork for the development of ultra-secure communications and computers that might one day outperform standard machines at some tasks.”
Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered a new exoplanet within a star’s habitable zone, reports Popular Mechanics. The exoplanet “requires further investigation to see if [it] has a life-supporting atmosphere – and possibly water,” writes Popular Mechanics.
MIT researchers have developed a new in-home device that can help monitor Parkinson’s patients by tracking their gait, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “We know very little about the brain and its diseases,” says Professor Dina Katabi. “My goal is to develop non-invasive tools that provide new insights about the functioning of the brain and its diseases.”
Popular Science reporter Philip Kiefer writes that MIT researchers have developed an in-home device that could be used to track the progression of symptoms in Parkinson’s patients. “We can’t really ask patients to come to the clinic every day or every week,” explains graduate student Yingcheng Liu. “This technology gives us the possibility to continuously monitor patients, and provide more objective assessments.”
VulcanForms, an MIT startup co-founded by Prof. John Hart, is a 3D printing company that aims to provide cutting edge, clean and futuristic manufacturing, reports Timothy Aeppel for Reuters. “VulcanForms builds metal parts by layering on and fusing together materials bit by bit – rather than cutting them out of blocks of metal or stamping them out in metal foundries,” writes Aeppel.
Prof. Tanja Bosak speaks with Science reporter Eric Hand about how scientists plan to study rock samples from Mars for clues as to whether the planet once had a magnetic field and for signs of ancient life, such as the tough lipid molecules that can form cell walls. “You hope for an outline of a cell,” she says. “You will never find peptides and proteins, but lipids can persist.”
TechCrunch reporter Kyle Wiggers spotlights DynamoFl, a company founded by Christian Lau PhD ’20 and Vaikkunth Mugunthan PhD ’22 that is developing a federated learning platform, a technique for preserving data privacy in AI systems.
Prof. Jack Wisdom and his colleagues have found that Saturn’s rings are comprised of debris from its former moon, reports Marina Koren for The Atlantic. “The researchers say the moon’s demise was mostly Titan’s fault. The big moon jostled the smaller one, putting the object on a very elongated track around Saturn,” writes Koren.
Research scientist Barmak Heshmat, CEO and founder of MIT spinout Brelyon, speaks with TechCrunch reporter Haje Jan Kamps about the company’s work in immersive digital monitors. “Our logic is pretty simple: If we can give you even half of the immersion of headsets with a device that doesn’t have to sit on your face and works with all existing content, then that would be a much more compelling progression of your computer experience and thus a better bridge to the emerging metaverse,” says Heshmat.