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New ultra-fine fibers created by the MIT team are seen in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image.

Ultrafine fibers have exceptional strength

New technique developed at MIT could produce strong, resilient nanofibers for many applications.

January 4, 2018

This experimental setup was used by the team to measure the electrical output of a sample of solar cell material, under controlled conditions of varying temperature and illumination. The data from those tests was then used as the basis for computer modeling using statistical methods to predict the overall performance of the material in real-world operating conditions.

New technique allows rapid screening for new types of solar cells

Approach could bypass the time-consuming steps currently needed to test new photovoltaic materials.

December 20, 2017

At the MIT Conference for the Resilient Reconstruction of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló ’01 (left), described the devastation of recent hurricanes and discussed opportunities for collaboration on resilient rebuilding. He spoke with Robert Stoner, deputy director of the MIT Energy Initiative and director of the Tata Center for Technology and Design.

MIT conference seeks solutions for reconstruction in devastated Caribbean

Two-day workshop featuring island leaders explores ways to rebuild better, more resilient infrastructure.

December 15, 2017

3Q: Institute Professor John Deutch on maintaining US leadership in technological innovation

Putting limits on foreign students or technical publications would be counterproductive, write Deutch and Condoleezza Rice.

December 15, 2017

The Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the Nuclear Reactor Lab celebrated the 75th anniversary of CP-1’s first human-made nuclear fission chain reaction. Pieces of reactor-grade graphite, identical to that used in MIT’s graphite exponential pile, were cut to make souvenirs for the event.

On 75th anniversary of first nuclear fission reactor, MIT stages tribute to seminal experiment

MIT’s historic graphite exponential pile has been restored as a tool for education and research.

December 4, 2017

Magnetic reconnection is a complicated phenomenon that Nuno Loureiro, an associate professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics at MIT, has been studying in detail for more than a decade. To explain the process, he gives a well-studied example: “If you watch a video of a solar flare” as it arches outward and then collapses back onto the sun’s surface, “that’s magnetic reco...

Study sheds light on turbulence in astrophysical plasmas

Theoretical analysis uncovers new mechanisms in plasma turbulence.

December 1, 2017

XiaoYu Wu pictured with the reactor his team used for the research. MIT researchers have developed a new system that could potentially be used for converting power plant emissions of carbon dioxide into useful fuels. The method may not only cut greenhouse emissions; it could also produce another potential revenue stream to help defray its costs.

Turning emissions into fuel

MIT-developed method converts carbon dioxide into useful compounds.

November 28, 2017

Micrographs of a metal surface after impact by metal particles. Craters are formed due to melting of the surface from the impact.

How to get sprayed metal coatings to stick

When spraying metal coatings, melting hurts rather than helps, MIT research reveals.

November 22, 2017

MIT is on the path to achieve at least a 32 percent reduction in campus emissions of greenhouse gases by the year 2030.

Institute on track to meet campus climate action goals

Plans are in place to meet or exceed greenhouse gas reduction targets.

November 21, 2017

MIT postdoc, Grace Han, handles a new chemical composite that could provide an alternative to fuel by functioning as a kind of thermal battery.

A new way to store thermal energy

MIT researchers create material for a chemical heat “battery” that could release its energy on demand.

November 16, 2017

A photograph shows regenerated helical silk fibers colored by Rhodamine dyes, under UV light.

How to build better silk

Reconstituted silk can be several times stronger than the natural fiber and made in different forms.

November 9, 2017

Graduate student Ingrid Guha holds a jar containing a clear liquid that looks like water to the naked eye, but it’s actually an emulsion of oil and water at the nanoscale.

A new way to mix oil and water

Condensation-based method developed at MIT could create stable nanoscale emulsions.

November 8, 2017

A new material produced by Juejun Hu and his team can be repeatedly stretched without losing its optical properties.

Researchers develop flexible, stretchable photonic devices

Light-based devices could be used as biomedical sensors or as flexible connectors for electronics.

November 7, 2017

A new smartphone app analyzes a car’s sounds and vibrations, as measured by the phone’s microphone and accelerometers. “We’re listening to the car’s breathing, and listening for when it starts to snore,” Joshua Siegel says.

Let your car tell you what it needs

MIT team develops software that can tell if tires need air, spark plugs are bad, or air filter needs replacing.

October 25, 2017

The sliding of a perfect twin boundary, with mirrored crystal lattices on both sides, was long considered to be impossible at room temperature in metals. Here, authors show that it is possible when a nanoscale twin boundary within a copper nanopillar is compressed along certain orientations, through in-situ transmission electron microscopy (left) and molecular dynamics simulation (right).

New property found in unusual crystalline materials

Materials with a special kind of boundary between crystal grains can deform in unexpected ways.