In the Media

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Gang Chen emphasizes the harm caused by the “China Initiative.” Chen notes that “some initiatives by the government, such as the China Initiative and the National Institutes of Health’s investigation into academics’ collaborations with China, weaken rather than strengthen US national security. American scientific prowess has been built on the United States’ ability to attract the best and the brightest minds from around the world.” He adds that the China Initiative has been deterring scientists from pursuing their research and careers in the United States.”

Arthur Musah '04, MEng '05 and Philip Abel '15 speak with GBH “Under The Radar” host Callie Crossley about Musah’s documentary, “Brief Tender Light,” which follows the life of four African-born students on their personal and academic experiences at MIT. “The takeaway for me is about how we all belong in all spaces all around the world,” says Musah. “For me, the film has always been about celebrating the lives of African students and Black people at institutions like MIT.”

Alicia Chong Rodriguez SM ’17, SM ’18 founded Bloomer Tech, a health tech startup that aims to improve health care diagnostics for women using medical-grade data to develop new therapies and care models, reports Carol Eisenberg for The Washington Post. Rodriguez and her colleagues "developed, patented and tested flexible washable circuits to turn articles of clothing into devices that can relay reams of information to the wearer’s smartphone,” writes Eisenberg.

Bloomberg reporter Boyan Ivanchev spotlights research by Prof. Drazen Prelec and Prof. Duncan Simester that finds, “credit card buyers were willing to pay over 100% more for tickets, due to the behavioral pattern that psychologically causes the credit card buyer to perceive the purchase as a type of deferred payment, and therefore, not immediately feel the psychological discomfort, as when letting this amount go when paying cash.”

MIT irradiation facilities engineer Andriy Tuz and Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speak with Jennifer Hiller of the Wall Street Journal about Tuz’s path from Ukraine to MIT. Tuz joined the Institute “through the U.S. government’s Uniting for Ukraine program, which provides a way for Ukrainian citizens displaced by the war to stay temporarily in the U.S.,” writes Hiller.

MIT irradiation facilities engineer Andriy Tuz and Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speak with Jennifer Hiller of the Wall Street Journal about Tuz’s path from Ukraine to MIT. Tuz joined the Institute “through the U.S. government’s Uniting for Ukraine program, which provides a way for Ukrainian citizens displaced by the war to stay temporarily in the U.S.,” writes Hiller.

Writing for The Hill, Principal Research Scientist Randolph Kirchain and Research Scientist Hessam Azarijafari address how the condition of the nation’s road system impacts transportation emissions. “Investing in a higher-performance road system is a lever within state control that will improve the efficiency and carbon emissions of all vehicles, regardless of how each is powered,” write Kirchain and Azarijafari. “Smoother, stiffer roads allow cars to travel along it more efficiently. Every time a car tire traverses a bump, crack, or pothole, energy is wasted.”

Lynn Yamada Davis '77, a TikTok creator known as “the internet’s grandma” for sharing her “quirky, educational cooking content,” has died at age 77, reports Morgan Sung for TechCrunch. “Before she was a content creator, Davis was an accomplished engineer — a feat for women of color at the time,” writes Sung.

Prof. Jessika Trancik writes for Newsweek about the importance of government policy in supporting the transition to electric vehicles. “Policy is needed to make EVs widely accessible to people while the technology and markets continue to mature,” writes Trancik, “and to ensure the process moves quickly enough to help slow the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

WBUR reporter Solon Kelleher spotlights “List Projects 29” – the final show in a series at the MIT List Visual Arts Center that focuses on “collaborations between artists.” The show features work from Brittni Ann Harvey and Harry Gould Harvey IV. “The artists co-founded the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art and share a vision for artist-led spaces and art that engages with the wider community,” writes Kelleher.

Lynn Yamada Davis '77, “a TikTok creator who brought joy to millions of people with her zany style and cooking tips on her account, Cooking With Lynja,” has died at 67, writes Claire Moses for The New York Times. Before becoming a TikTok star, Davis “had this whole chapter as a groundbreaking female engineer, and she was very proud of that,” her daughter Hannah Shofet explained. Her son, Sean Davis noted that the final chapter of her life spent travelling the world, meeting people and cooking and eating amazing food was “exactly how she would have wanted it to be written.”

Boston Globe reporter Malcom Gay writes that Michael John Gorman, “a museum professional who has created and run several organizations devoted to science and the arts,” has been named the next director of the MIT Museum. At the MIT Museum, "Gorman inherits a dynamic new cultural venue replete with gallery space, forum areas, learning labs, a public maker hub, and collection of some 1.5 million objects,” Gay writes.

Forbes contributor Jamie Carter spotlights a new study co-authored by MIT scientists that suggests, “the absence of carbon dioxide in a rocky planet’s atmosphere—relative to others in the same star system—may indicate the presence of liquid water on the planet’s surface.”

Writing for Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti examines recent attempts to shorten journeys between major cities, such as a hyperloop system that would transport passengers via giant vacuum tubes from London to Paris in about 20 minutes. “Customers clearly prefer a smooth experience to maximum speed,” writes Ratti. “They might also be choosing the Eurostar for having a carbon footprint that is about 95 per cent less than that of aircraft. While the hyperloop might have emitted less per journey than a plane, and perhaps even a high-speed train, its construction would have had a huge environmental cost.”

Keelin Caldwell, director of engagement for the MIT Museum, speaks with GBH host Jared Bowen about the MIT Museum’s After Dark series, including their upcoming event, “Beyond The Fold,” which will allow participants to explore the art and science of folding. Caldwell explains that the After Dark series happens monthly, noting “there is always a different theme, and that theme is an opportunity to both narrow in but stay broad, and we really try to have activities that appeal to a lot of different people.”