Using data to inform the connections between technology and policy
MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society research from the Technology and Policy Program highlights multidisciplinary approaches to data-driven policies.
Avoiding stumbles, from spacewalks to sidewalks
Vibrating footwear could help astronauts and visually impaired earthlings skirt obstacles.
Designing climate-friendly concrete, from the nanoscale up
New understanding of concrete’s properties could increase lifetime of the building material, decrease emissions.
Scientists program cells to remember and respond to series of stimuli
New approach to biological circuit design enables scientists to track cell histories.
Borrowing from pastry chefs, engineers create nanolayered composites
Method to stack hundreds of nanoscale layers could open new vistas in materials science.
A novel approach to a longstanding challenge in nuclear arms control
MIT researchers develop a “physical cryptography” for secure and accurate accounting of the world’s nuclear arsenals.
Growing season
New professional education program on agriculture, innovation, and the environment attracts global agricultural leaders to MIT.
JuliaCon draws global users of a dynamic, easy-to-learn programming language
Now three years old, the Julia programming language is helping to solve problems in areas such as economic modeling, spaceflight, and bioinformatics.
The quest for clean water
MIT researchers design a solar-powered desalination device for rural India.
How MIT gave "Ghostbusters" its "geek cred"
From proton packs to hidden props, the 2016 blockbuster draws upon MIT personalities and scientific panache.
Robert Fano, computing pioneer and founder of CSAIL, dies at 98
Professor emeritus helped launch field of information theory and developed early time-sharing computers.
![“We don’t necessarily want [air traffic controllers] to spend the bandwidth on processing 40 pieces of information. Instead, we can tell them the three top choices,” says Hamsa Balakrishnan, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT and a member of MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/201607/MIT-Hamsa-Balakrishnan-1.jpg?itok=b_24OVE6)
Microbiome genes on the move
Largest metagenomic view of the developing world uncovers “mobile genes” that reveal how culture shapes the human microbiome.
Building a foundation for tech startups
Launched in an MIT dorm room, alum’s venture capital firm now controls $150 million in assets.