In the Media

"Joi Ito, 46-year-old director of MIT's Media Lab since last September, has just selected the faculty's newest outpost: the troubled streets of downtown Detroit."

"The MIT Sloan CFO Summit hosted two economics speakers during the course of the day: The first painted the state of U.S. debt levels as an appalling crisis that must be dealt with immediately — but the second begged to differ, offering an alternative set of priorities."

"If you’ve checked Twitter, updated your Facebook status and read an article or two at work today then here’s a reason not to feel guilty: Periodical procrastination has been shown to boost work performance, especially if your job is particularly tedious. Say, if you’re flying a spy drone over Pakistan."

"Researchers have been trying to create ultra-hydrophobic materials--materials that repel water--because condensation of vapor can interfere with the energy efficiency of industrial processes."

"During tests, the researchers were able to shoot tiny glass beads at the material, which effectively stopped bullets in their paths."

"Barack Obama’s success at cultivating minorities, especially immigrants, seems to have caught the attention of Republican political strategists."

"AIDA is an intelligent dashboard companion that not only reads the road, but should soon read your mood too."

"As the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm Sandy suggests, regions in both rich and poor parts of the world urgently need to develop local plans to prepare for climate impacts and reduce their disaster risk, experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say."

"The judges announced the results Tuesday, and the overall winner of the Hubway Data Visualization Challenge is Virot 'Ta' Chiraphadhanakul, a PhD candidate at MIT who studies transit issues."

"In this section, our conversation turns more emotional, as Professor Zuber discusses how she was inspired to become a scientist, the most exciting moments of the mission so far, how scientists and artists can best collaborate to communicate the wonders of exploration, and the student scientists who surpassed her wildest expectations..."

"When nature's materials can't do the job scientists want done, it's time to head into the lab and get creative. That means entering the impressive, strange genre of metamaterials--stuff with a designer molecular structure that gives it unique properties."

"The news arrived a month ago, courtesy of the Web site D3hoops.com. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known for its astronauts, physicists and Nobel laureates, was the No. 1 Division III basketball team in the nation."

"But for the rest of us, whose inboxes' factual sanctity is under constant assault, there's LazyTruth, a new tool from Matt Stempeck and his team at MIT's Media Lab."

"Self-repairing computers! Electronic skin! Bat-wing planes! A look at the amazing stuff that's changing the world."

"Military drone operators flying deadly aircraft by remote control would be more effective if they were distracted more often, a study has found."