Code quest
As a grad student, Robert Gallager, SM ’57, ScD ’60, met one of information theory’s central challenges. But nobody realized it for 30 years.
Solar funnel
New antenna made of carbon nanotubes could make photovoltaic cells more efficient by concentrating solar energy.
Pushing ions through carbon nanotubes
The tiny, multitalented carbon tubes can carry single molecules, one at a time.
Can you find me now?
By demonstrating fundamental limits on their accuracy, MIT researchers show how to improve wireless location-detection systems.
Solar cell, heal thyself
New self-assembling photovoltaic technology can keep repairing itself to avoid any loss in performance.
Scientist-astronaut and former MIT professor William B. Lenoir dies at 71
An MIT junior faculty member in the 1960s, he later flew on the space shuttle and became a NASA associate administrator.
NASA and MIT inspire girls’ interest in science and engineering
MIT Edgerton Center takes on NASA’s Summer of Innovation with 5 summer programs. Learn more about one of them.
Supercomputing on a cell phone
For complex problems whose form can be anticipated but whose particulars can’t, new software can offer approximate solutions in seconds.
The Salp: Nature’s near-perfect little engine just got better
These efficient organisms may help remove carbon dioxide from the upper ocean
Personal cushion of air
Inspired by seeds, proposed air-bag system would surround astronauts and protect them during bumpy landings
MIT researchers among Technology Review’s annual list of the world’s top young innovators
‘TR35’ to be honored at Technology Review’s EmTech@MIT conference next month.
Sizing samples
Many scientific disciplines use computers to infer patterns in data. But how much data is enough to ensure that the inferences are right?
Roger W. Sudbury, former executive officer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, dies at age 72
A leader in microwave solid-state electronics for radar, he worked at the Laboratory for 41 years and became a trusted adviser and mentor to many.
A better way to grow stem cells
New synthetic surfaces overcome challenges posed by existing methods for cultivating stem cells.