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At left, different patterns of slices through a thin metal foil, are made by a focused ion beam. These patterns cause the metal to fold up into predetermined shapes, which can be used for such purposes as modifying a beam of light.

Kirigami-inspired technique manipulates light at the nanoscale

Folding and cutting thin metal films could enable microchip-based 3-D optical devices.

July 6, 2018

Based on measurements taken at more than 100,000 wells around the country, the MIT researchers identified these locations, indicated by green dots, that have a combination of a severe shortage of freshwater, and a large reserve of brackish groundwater that could potentially be desalinated and used.

Study finds potential in brackish groundwater desalination

Water-starved areas could find new sources by desalinating water that’s much less salty than seawater.

July 4, 2018

Repellency of different liquids on polyester fabric coated with H1F7Ma-co-DVB: soy sauce (black drop), coffee (brown drop), HCl acid (top left transparent drop), NaOH (bottom right transparent drop) and water (remaining transparent drops).

Let it rain! New coatings make natural fabrics waterproof

MIT-developed process could offer nontoxic alternative to environmentally harmful chemicals.

June 29, 2018

This diagram depicts the configuration of the complex tropoelastin molecule, which forms the basis for the elastin that gives tissues like skin and blood vessels their elasticity. The molecule’s atom-by-atom structure was decoded by a team of researchers from MIT, Australia and the UK.

Researchers decode molecule that gives living tissues their flexibility

Study reveals atomic structure of tropoelastin, showing what goes wrong in some diseases.

June 25, 2018

Addressing the class of 2018 in MIT’s Commencement address on June 8, Facebook COO and bestselling author Sheryl Sandberg said, “the most difficult problems and the greatest opportunities are not technical, they are human.”

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg tells MIT grads “it’s about people”

Commencement speaker says the greatest opportunities are for humans, not technology.

June 8, 2018

On the roof of the Central Utility Plant building, standing in front of one of the cooling towers, are (left to right): Seth Kinderman, Central Utility Plant engineering manager; Kripa Varanasi, associate professor of mechanical engineering; recent doctoral graduates Karim Khalil and Maher Damak; and Patrick Karalekas, plant engineer, Central Utilities Plant.

New system recovers fresh water from power plants

Technology captures water evaporating from cooling towers; prototype to be installed on MIT’s Central Utility Plant.

June 8, 2018

Researchers at MIT and Israel's Technion used a thin-film material composed of layers of gallium-arsenide and indium-gallium-arsenide, overlaid with a layer of graphene, as shown in this diagram, to produce strong interactions between light and particles that could someday enable highly tunable lasers or LEDs.

Researchers devise new way to make light interact with matter

Reducing the wavelength of light could allow it to be absorbed or emitted by a semiconductor, study suggests.

June 4, 2018

This cloaking grenade, used for hiding troop operations from view on the battlefield, is an example of nanoparticles that reflect a particular color of light based on their exact size and composition. New work by MIT researchers provides a way to predict the light-scattering properties of layered nanoparticles – or to design particles to match a desired type of light-scattering behavior.

AI-based method could speed development of specialized nanoparticles

Neural network could expedite complex physics simulations.

June 1, 2018

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, was interviewed onstage at Kresge Auditorium by Media Lab assistant professor Danielle Wood, who then took questions from the capacity audience.

Justin Trudeau: Embrace the rapid pace of change

At flagship Solve event, Canada’s prime minister urges audience to help shape the changes transforming society.

May 18, 2018

While all global climate models show an overall increase in surface temperatures over the coming decades, when it comes down to regional effects on temperature and rainfall there are areas of significant uncertainty.

Workshop explores intertwined future of food production, water, and climate

Choices by consumers and farmers can help limit global warming, but climate change may also curtail those choices in the future.

May 11, 2018

Mircea Dincă: Searching for materials that collect and store energy

A lifelong fascination with chemistry has led to research on exotic new materials with environmental advantages.

May 8, 2018

A team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has come up with a way to figure out the best type of solar panel for a given location and type of installation.

How to assess new solar technologies

MIT analysis shows when and where advanced photovoltaics would be economic to install.

April 30, 2018

Scanning Electron Microscope image shows a few of the carefully designed shaped of the chalcogenide glass deposited on a clear substrate. The shapes, which the researchers call “meta-atoms,” determine how mid-infrared light is bent when passing through the material.

Improving mid-infrared imaging and sensing

Artificial optical materials could allow cheaper, flatter, more efficient detectors for night vision and other uses.

April 26, 2018

This scanning electron microscope image shows ultrafine diamond needles (cone shapes rising from bottom) being pushed on by a diamond tip (dark shape at top). These images reveal that the diamond needles can bend as much as 9 percent and still return to their original shape.

How to bend and stretch a diamond

The brittle material can turn flexible when made into ultrafine needles, researchers find.

April 19, 2018

At top, a diagram shows the configuration that could be used to verify that a nuclear warhead is real. At left, the key component of a nuclear weapon, called the pit, which consists of a hollow sphere of plutonium, is lined up with a specially made second component, called the reciprocal, which has the opposite characteristics. When the two are observed using a beam of neutrons, the resulting imag...

For nuclear weapons reduction, a way to verify without revealing

New isotope-detection method could prove compliance but avoid divulging secrets.