School of Engineering

3-D-printed colloidal crystals viewed under a light microscope.

MIT researchers 3-D print colloidal crystals

Technique could be used to scale-up self-assembled materials for use as optical sensors, color displays, and light-guided electronics.

August 30, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a neural-network model that can analyze raw text and audio data from interviews to discover speech patterns indicative of depression. This method could be used to develop diagnostic aids for clinicians that can detect signs of depression in natural conversation.

Model can more naturally detect depression in conversations

Neural network learns speech patterns that predict depression in clinical interviews.

August 29, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a machine-learning model that groups patients into subpopulations by health status to better predict a patient’s risk of dying during their stay in the ICU. This technique outperforms "global" mortality-prediction models and reveals performance disparities of those models across specific patient subpopulations.

Model improves prediction of mortality risk in ICU patients

By training on patients grouped by health status, neural network can better estimate if patients will die in the hospital.

August 29, 2018

Results have just been published from a years-long project trying to quantify just how urban-based solar installations are affected by hazes, which tend to be concentrated in dense cities.

Air pollution can put a dent in solar power

Study finds lost revenue can be millions of dollars annually, suggests ways to quantify haze-related reductions in solar panel output.

August 28, 2018

Photos illustrate how the tiny droplets produced by a mesh barrier prevent plants from being pummeled by the larger droplets from either rainfall or the spraying of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. The smaller droplets in the image at right have little effect on the plant, while the droplets at left batter its leaves heavily.

New approach makes sprayed droplets hit and stick to their targets

Using a simple mesh screen may allow farmers to dramatically reduce the amount of pesticides they spray.

August 28, 2018

MIT SEVT solar vehicle placed 5th at the American Solar Challenge.

Sun-powered car shines in American Solar Challenge

MIT Solar Electrical Vehicle Team takes 5th place in nine-day challenge, which traversed the Oregon Trail from Omaha, Nebraska to Bend, Oregon.

August 27, 2018

Noelle Selin’s interdisciplinary research addresses both the science and policy of air pollution, climate change, and hazardous substances.

Noelle Selin named director of the MIT Technology and Policy Program

Selin will spearhead the master's program for students whose research addresses societal challenges at the intersection of technology and policy.

August 24, 2018

The MIT-SenseTime Alliance on Artificial Intelligence, a program within the MIT Quest for Intelligence, has announced funding for 27 projects involving about 50 principal investigators from departments and labs within engineering, science, architecture and planning, management, and the humanities and social sciences.

MIT-SenseTime Alliance funds projects from all five schools

Interdisciplinary work will advance research in human and machine intelligence.

August 24, 2018

Seung Gyou Baek and his colleagues performed experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak to demonstrate how microwaves can be used to overcome barriers to steady-state fusion reactor operation.

Pushing the plasma density limit

Plasma Science and Fusion Center researchers discover a path to overcoming the plasma density limit in their quest for steady-state fusion.

August 23, 2018

MIT alumnus Alan Hanson led the International Nuclear Leadership Education Program at MIT — the only program of its kind in the world.

Alan Hanson, who led the International Nuclear Leadership Education Program, dies at 71

Alumnus directed a unique program for nuclear leaders from countries new to nuclear power.

August 22, 2018

Chronic rhinosinusitis causes the sinuses to become inflamed and swollen for months to years at a time, leading to difficulty breathing and other symptoms.

Study: Cellular changes lead to chronic allergic inflammation in the sinus

Findings suggest mechanisms for the persistence of nasal polyps and possible new treatment strategies.

August 22, 2018

The new system was developed by a CSAIL group led by Professor Dina Katabi (pictured)

A "GPS for inside your body"

CSAIL wireless system suggests future where doctors could implant sensors to track tumors or even dispense drugs.

August 20, 2018

MIT researchers have discovered that peptides normally secreted by cells that line the stomach have previously unknown antimicrobial activity.

Biological engineers discover new antibiotic candidates

Screen of human proteins reveals some with antimicrobial power.

August 20, 2018

PSFC principal research scientists Stephen Wukitch (left) and John Wright are being honored for their collaborative work.

Stephen Wukitch, John Wright win Landau-Spitzer Award

MIT and European Union scientists collaborate on new plasma heating scenario to boost fusion research.

August 17, 2018

A novel encryption method devised by MIT researchers secures data used in online neural networks, without dramatically slowing their runtimes, which holds promise for medical-image analysis using cloud-based neural networks and other applications.

More efficient security for cloud-based machine learning

Novel combination of two encryption techniques protects private data, while keeping neural networks running quickly.