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Dr. Keith Collins ’70 explains the details of his zero-net-energy house in Rockport, Maine.

The easy way to go green

Alum's 'state-of-the-shelf' energy-efficient house is among a bevy of new ideas for curbing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions presented at MIT's annual Energy Night.

October 20, 2009

The IBEX satellite maps the boundary layer of the sun's bubble, or heliosheath. This map shows this data plotted on an all-sky image, revealing the bright ribbon-like structure (in greens, yellows and reds) swirling across the sky.

Bursting the sun's bubble

New observations indicate the heliosphere — the sun's sphere of influence — has a different shape than theorists had expected.

October 16, 2009

At left, a high-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy image of platinum nanoparticles on a fuel cell's electrode reveals surface steps that researchers say are responsible for dramatically improving efficiency. These steps are shown in greater detail in the diagram at the right.

Fuel cells get a boost

Creating tiny steps to electrode surfaces can double the efficiency of the emissions-free electricity sources, MIT researchers find.

October 15, 2009

Diagram showing the predicted track of the occultation of a star by a Kuiper Belt Object on the night of Oct. 9.

Tracking icy objects, across the globe

Pilot project sets the stage for MIT-led globe-girdling efforts to learn about icy relics of the solar system's birth.

October 9, 2009

Nick Orf PhD ’09 demonstrates a prototype Thermeleon roof tile, using a heat gun to warm part of it. The heated area turns from black to white.

Energy savings in black and white

MIT students develop concept for color-changing roof tiles that absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer.

October 8, 2009

To illustrate the findings of their model, MIT researchers created a pair of 'roulette wheels.' This wheel depicts their estimate of the range of probability of potential global temperature change over the next 100 years if no policy change is enacted on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

How to limit risk of climate catastrophe

Comprehensive analysis of the odds of climate outcomes under different policy scenarios shows significant benefits from early actions.

October 2, 2009

One of the paper's co-authors, Jens Wendler, chips away at a gray band in the cliffs at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary (Fiskeler) at Kulstirenden, Stevns Klint, Denmark. This band represents the period of the mass extinction 65 million years ago and immediately afterwards, and is one of the thickest deposits in the world from that period.

A new day dawned fast

Recovery from marine mass extinction happened much faster than thought, high-resolution research finds

October 2, 2009

Robert L. Jaffe, the Otto (1939) and Jane Morningstar Professor of Science in the Department of Physics, teaches the 'Physics of Energy' class last year.

A minor that's major

MIT’s new energy minor provides a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the policy, economics, science and technology of energy.

October 1, 2009

These images show a recent crater on the side of the moon that faces away from Earth, as seen by a NASA instrument aboard the Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. On the left, an ordinary image taken by infrared light. On the right, the light blue shows water-rich minerals, associated with material ejected from the crater.

3 questions: Ben Weiss discusses what a wet moon might mean

The planetary scientist explores the implications of the recent discovery of water on the lunar surface.

September 30, 2009

An example of what happens when the plants are not harvested early enough - mature pods begin to regerminate and those nuts are no longer useable.

In the World: A better way to beat around the bush

International teams in Ghana tackle local needs of village farmers for better methods and devices to harvest their crops

September 25, 2009

Snapshot of a simulation of a nanoparticle coated with a single layer of molecules (thin lines projecting from sphere) composed of a 1:1 mixture of hydrophobic (yellow) and hydrophilic (blue) ligands.

Harnessing nanopatterns

New findings show that tiny textures on a surface can produce big differences in how some materials, and even living cells, behave

September 24, 2009

An MIT shuttle bus drives down Vassar Street.

Used frying oil to power MIT shuttles

Student biodiesel group cooks up its first batches of fuel made from recycled oil from campus dining facilities

September 23, 2009

Carol Livermore, associate professor of mechanical engineering, left, stands with graduate student Frances Hill in Livermore's lab.

Small springs could provide big power

Mechanical engineer Carol Livermore and colleagues find that carbon nanotubes, used as springs, have potential to compete with batteries for energy storage.

September 21, 2009

A close up of the 6dot Braille Labeler, a device created by MIT students to enable blind or visually impaired people to make labels for objects easily and inexpensively.

Braille made simple

MIT students develop device that could make labeling easier for the visually impaired. Product could be on the market next year.

September 21, 2009

A satellite image of internal waves (with a wavelength of about 2 kilometers), which are generated by flow from the the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, at the east of Gibraltar and Ceuta.

Hidden waves pack a big punch

Thomas Peacock sheds light on an odd but powerful phenomenon of sea and sky

September 18, 2009

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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