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3 Questions: Eric Klopfer on the meaning of masks

During a pandemic, the mask is a badge of honor, indicating the important role that individuals play in protecting the health of others during a crisis.

August 12, 2020

"The transmission of inaccurate beliefs about the virus is not just about 'facts.' It's about emotion," says Heather Hendershot. "I’d like to believe that the best way to fight misinformation is with information, but it’s possible that a public health campaign with a strong emotional resonance would be more effective."

3 Questions: Heather Hendershot on coverage of the pandemic

MIT media expert discusses the stark differences across U.S. media sources.

July 21, 2020

“As a MechE student, I think about technical solutions to our world’s biggest problems," says Claudia Chen '20. "As a CMS student, I think about the effects and implications these technical solutions have on our society and our media ecosystems.”

Meet the MIT bilinguals: Claudia Chen '20 combines creative, humanistic, and technical fields

Recent MIT graduate will apply her dual comparative media studies and mechanical engineering degree to work in the technology industry.

June 18, 2020

Left to right: MIT associate professors Eden Medina of science, technology, and society and Sarah Williams of technology and urban planning. Medina is particularly well-versed in the social, historical, and ethical aspects of computing, and Williams brings expertise as a practicing data scientist. Their multi-layered course, Data and Society, is designed to train practitioners who know how to use ...

The social life of data

New Data and Society course engages students in the ethics and societal implications of data.

June 8, 2020

"The World Wide Web is famously said to have been inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's short story 'Dial F For Frankenstein," says Professor Alexandre. "Whatever the truth is, I'm not surprised that a writer's process of meticulously crafting creative ways of communicating with readers would lead to imaginary inventions that foresee entirely new forms of communication. Literature, its readers, and the i...

3 Questions: Sandy Alexandre on the literary roots of technological innovations

“Our speculative fiction writers are the unsung prophets among us.”

June 1, 2020

“When I was looking for a university," says MIT senior Talia Khan, "I wanted one with access to top-quality music teachers and top-quality science. Here, we have the same quality of music education as conservatories, and you also have the rest of the MIT education.”

Meet the MIT bilinguals: Dual materials science and music major Talia Khan

Fulbright Fellowship recipient encourages more musicologists and scientists to do interdisciplinary work with one another.

May 26, 2020

Anne McCants, MIT professor of history, describes how we can derive hope about climate change by learning from human societies that thrived in difficult conditions of the preindustrial past.

3 Questions: Anne McCants on climate change in history

How, in the nadir of the Little Ice Age, did the Dutch generate a golden age?

May 6, 2020

Studying science has made her a better historian, Charlotte Minsky says. And studying history has made her a better scientist.

Meet the MIT bilinguals: Dual history and planetary science major Charlotte Minsky

Studying history has made her a better planetary scientist, Minsky says. And studying science has made her a better historian.

April 28, 2020

Beyond the hyper-rational debates of "jobs vs. environment" — and based on her own family heritage and home territory — MIT anthropologist Amy Moran-Thomas illuminates "the cultural underpinnings that have allowed anti-science propaganda to gain traction in America and continue in the face of mounting evidence."

Associate Professor Amy Moran-Thomas receives the 2020 Levitan Prize in the Humanities

The award will support the MIT anthropologist's research on the cultural dimensions of climate denialism.

April 24, 2020

"Will the November 2020 election be delayed? The answer is, 'no.'" says Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science, and co-founder, MIT Election Data and Science Lab. "Even if the asteroids are raining on our heads and the zombies are roaming the streets on November 3, we will be voting."

3 Questions: Charles Stewart on the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the 2020 elections

Head of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab discusses the greatest risks, voting by mail, zombies, and asteroids.

April 15, 2020

"Health care in [community health centers] has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic," says Jeffrey Harris, physician and MIT economist. "Patients with chronic conditions are being dissuaded from coming in. Instead, telehealth service has become the new form of care."

3 Questions: Jeffrey Harris on the evolution of health care during the Covid-19 pandemic

Physician and MIT economist provides insights into health care during the pandemic, and how electronic or “telehealth” service has become the new form of care.

April 8, 2020

Milo Phillips-Brown (left) and Marion Boulicault are part of a team working on transforming technology ethics education at MIT.

3 Questions: Marion Boulicault and Milo Phillips-Brown on ethics in a technical curriculum

Philosophers are part of a team working on transforming technology ethics education at MIT.

March 11, 2020

Potential applications of Soh's work in computational linguistics include improving speech recognition software and making machine-produced speech sound more natural.

MIT senior Christine Soh integrates computer science and linguistics

Knowledge in both a technical and humanistic field prepares her to make new tools in computational linguistics.

March 5, 2020

"Lately I have been trying to think of African history from the perspective of goodness and basic human decency," says Kenda Mutongi, an MIT professor of history. "Of course, conflicts exist, and do a great deal of damage in our lives, and we must confront them — but we must also allow ourselves to appreciate basic goodness and kindness when we see it."

3 Questions: Professor Kenda Mutongi on Africa, women, power — and human decency

Mutongi discusses the connection between Kenyan widows and the #MeToo movement, myths of African entrepreneurship, and the wider implications of her research.

January 14, 2020

How to stage a revolution

MIT History class explores the roots and complexities of revolutions across the globe.

January 7, 2020

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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