First germanium laser
New results from MIT’s Electronic Materials Research Group bring us closer to computers that use light instead of electricity to move data.
Powering cube satellites
An electric propulsion technology for miniature satellites aims to give them more mobility — and may eventually allow them to take on deep-space missions.
CRTs going down the tubes? Hardly
Surprisingly, old-style television sets and computer screens are still in demand — to make new TV sets
Engineering a new way to study hepatitis C
Tissue engineers have successfully infected liver cells in the laboratory, allowing a better way to test new drugs.
Nonlinear thinker
With techniques for translating complicated equations into ‘sums of squares,’ Pablo Parrilo helps make sense of previously insoluble problems.
Iron-plated snail could inspire new armor
Analysis of unique deep-sea mollusk offers insights into design of armor for soldiers and vehicles.
Jack Wozencraft, information theorist at MIT, 1925-2009
Jack Wozencraft, considered one of the pioneers of coding theory in the nascent field of information theory, died peacefully August 31, 2009.
Explained: Gallager codes
In 1993, scientists achieved the maximum rate for data transmission — only to find they’d been scooped 30 years earlier by an MIT grad student.
Picture-driven computing
New research could enable computer programming based on screen shots, not just code
New ‘nanoburrs’ could help fight heart disease
Targeted nanoparticles can home in on damaged vascular tissue and may be used to deliver drugs that help clear arteries
Explained: The Shannon limit
A 1948 paper by Claude Shannon SM ’40, PhD ’40 created the field of information theory — and set its research agenda for the next 50 years.
Three professors win top national early-career honors
Presidential awards to Buehler, Dawson and Sheffield were presented this week at a White House ceremony