In the Media

Second-year student Danielle Geathers has been elected president of the MIT Undergraduate Association (UA), reports David Williams for CNN. Geathers will be the first black woman to serve as president of the UA.

Forbes contributor Chad Orzel spotlights Prof. David Kaiser’s new book, “Quantum Legacies.” Orzel notes that, “this is a very solid work both in terms of the history and the physics discussed in it, and Kaiser is a very engaging writer.”

Boston Globe reporter Marie Morris spotlights how during a virtual event, Paul Ha, director of the MIT List Visual Arts Center, discussed how the List and other local museums are planning to reopen in a world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Forbes contributor Adrian Bridgwater spotlights how MIT researchers are examining supply chain issues to gain a better understanding of the availability of Covid-19 testing equipment and PPE. “Having access to an integrated set of diverse COVID-19 data sources with a common data model can help accelerate analysis of critical supply chain issues in our work with FEMA and other agencies,” says research engineer Tim Russell.

Wired reporter Will Knight writes that researchers from MIT and other institutions have “revealed an AI engine that learned how to recreate the classic game Pac-Man without any of the original code.”

Joel Brenner, a research affiliate at MIT’s Center for International Studies, speaks with Meghna Chakrabarti of NPR’s On Point about the recent firing of the U.S. Inspector General and the implications for political accountability and American democracy.

Wired reporter Will Knight writes that researchers from MIT and other institutions have “revealed an AI engine that learned how to recreate the classic game Pac-Man without any of the original code.”

A study by MIT researchers finds that while vaccines are more likely to advance through clinical trials, "vaccine development for some of the world’s most dangerous diseases has lagged in recent decades, which may present challenges for the pursuit of a Covid-19 vaccine,” reports Travis Anderson for The Boston Globe.

Popular Mechanics Courtney Linder writes that researchers from MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab are working on rebuilding islands in the Maldives using the power of ocean waves to redistribute sand. The scientists hope to eventually “scale their approach to other locations around the world and rebuild heavily populated coastlines, like New York City, as well as the most vulnerable island nations.”

MIT researchers have developed a new precision injection system to help fight diseases and deliver nutrients to plants, reports Jeff Kart for Forbes. Kart explains that the new method “uses an array of microneedles made of a silk-based biomaterial to deliver drugs, nutrients and other molecules to specific parts of a plant.”

New York Times reporters Quoctrung Bui and Emily Badger spotlight how MIT researchers have captured audio recordings of walks through city parks throughout the world and found that ambient urban noise has declined during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s almost like the countryside melody coming into the city,” explains Prof. Carlo Ratti.

Washington Post contributor Michele L. Norris highlights Prof. Evan Lieberman’s writing about the potential consequences of collecting disaggregated racial data on Covid-19. “It is not difficult to imagine that if Covid-19 comes to be understood as a ‘Black’ epidemic,” he wrote, “this will create false impressions for many white Americans…that the virus is ‘not our problem,’ leading to decreased demand for and compliance with public health directives.”

Boston Globe reporters Kay Lazar and Felice J. Freyer spotlight a study by MIT researchers that lack of coordination in reopening strategies could lead to increased spread of Covid-19. “We don’t advocate a one-size-fits-all policy. We recognize different localities with different circumstances may need different policy responses,” explains Prof. Sinan Aral. “But our work suggests that they should coordinate with each other.”

Prof. Eran Egozy speaks with Boston Globe reporter Grace Griffin about “Comusica,” a musical celebration of the Class of 2020 that combines audio and video clips of graduating MIT students to create a cohesive song. Egozy hopes the piece creates “that feeling of coming together and celebrating and basically seeing everyone’s smiling, happy faces.”

A study by MIT researchers finds uncoordinated reopening strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic could cause regional issues, reports Jim Braude for WGBH’s Greater Boston. “One state’s or counties policies significantly affect mobility in other states or counties,” explains Prof. Sinan Aral.