In the Media

MIT researchers are leading three missions over the next decade to characterize Venus’ atmosphere for habitability, reports Bruce Dorminey for Forbes. “Understanding Venus is key to understanding exo-earths,” writes Dorminey.

7 News spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new implantable device that could provide diabetes patients with insulin without using injections. “What we’ve been able to show is that with a minimally invasive implant that is sitting just under the skin, we’ve actually been able to sort of achieve a diabetic reversal,” explains Research Scientist Siddharth Krishnan.

Gizmodo reporter Ed Cara writes that MIT researchers have developed a new implantable device that can produce its own supply of insulin for up to a month. The team envisions that the device could “eventually be used for other medical conditions dependent on a regular supply of externally produced proteins, such as certain forms of anemia treated with erythropoietin,” writes Cara.

Maria Telleria ’08, SM’10, PhD ’13 speaks with Forbes contributor Stuart Anderson about her experience immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager, earning her PhD at MIT, and co-founding a company. “I don’t think I would have had these opportunities if I could not have come to the United States,” said Telleria. “I think it helped me grow by being exposed to two cultures. When you have had to think in two different ways, I think it makes you better understand other people and why they’re different. Coming to America has been an amazing opportunity.”

Dan Stack PhD ’20 speaks with TechCrunch reporter Tim De Chant about his startup Electrified Thermal Solutions, which is developing electrified firebricks to help decarbonize building materials.  

Boston Globe reporter Macie Parker spotlights the new John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Kendall Square, the first building to open in MIT’s redevelopment of the 14-acre Volpe site that will ultimately include “research labs, retail, affordable housing, and open space, with the goal of not only encouraging innovation, but also enhancing the surrounding community.” Parker highlights the green technology included in the new Volpe Center: solar panels; triple-paned glass; electric vehicle charging stations; a rainwater reclamation and reuse system; and green and cool roof technology to lower energy use. 

MIT has been ranked one of the top universities in the world by U.S. News & World Report, writes Emily Sweeney for The Boston Globe. Sweeney writes that the ranking “looked at approximately 1,500 colleges and universities and evaluated them on 19 measures of academic quality — this year changing its methodology to put more emphasis on social mobility and the outcomes of graduating students.”

MIT was named to the number two spot in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the top universities, reports WBZ.

Wall Street Journal reporter Scott Patterson spotlights Form Energy, an MIT startup that will produce long-duration batteries using an electrochemical reaction that turns iron into rust and back again. Patterson notes that the goal at Form Energy was to “develop batteries that were cheap, didn’t catch fire, didn’t need scarce and costly metals like cobalt and lithium, and could produce electricity for a long time.”

Forbes contributor Michael Nietzel spotlights how MIT was named among the top universities in the U.S. for the economic value it returns to its students, according to a new ranking by Degreechoices. “At MIT, students earn $111,222 on average ten years after attending, and it takes those receiving federal aid under a year, on average, to pay back their total cost of attendance,” writes Nietzel. “Those numbers are consistent with MIT’s reputation for producing a large number of STEM graduates with very strong earning power.”

MIT alumnus Julian Bussgang SM ’52 - an entrepreneur, researcher and teacher who wrote about his experience escaping Poland during the Holocaust - has died at age 98, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. “I have been one of the lucky ones. I survived,” wrote Bussgang in his memoir, adding that “the Holocaust still affected me. Lurking in the depth of my soul, there is a gnawing sorrow and haunting memories.”

MIT researchers have developed a new underwater system that could enable long-range and low-power underwater communication, reports Edd Gent for IEEE Spectrum. “The reason why this is really exciting is because now you start opening up many of the coastal monitoring applications,” says Prof. Fadel Adib. “It’s a turning point from this being a technology that is intellectually super interesting that we hope will work, to saying we know that this works and we have a path to deployment.”

Writing for Foreign Affairs, Prof. M. Taylor Fravel examines the suggestion that China’s economic downturn could lead to war. “Chinese leaders have rarely, if ever, started a conflict purely as a diversion, even during moments of domestic crisis,” writes Fravel. “When the Chinese economy falters, the danger is not diversionary war. It is that China’s leaders will feel weak and become more sensitive to external challenges, potentially lashing out to show strength and deter other countries from taking advantage of their insecurity.”

Sloan Senior Lecturer Tara Swart Bieber speaks with Newsweek reporter Pandora Dewan about exercises that can help improve memory. "Memory is something that can be trained using neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to be malleable throughout life," said Bieber.

Writing for The Boston Globe, MIT Prof. Carlo Ratti and Harvard Prof. Antoine Picon examine AI and the future of cities, noting that their research has shown “once trained, visual AI is shockingly accurate at predicting property values, crime rates, and even public health outcomes — just by analyzing photos.” They add: “Tireless, penetrating artificial eyes are coming to our streets, promising to show us things we have never seen before. They will be incredible tools to guide us — but only if we keep our own eyes open.”