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“MIT is wonderful because in addition to [finding] an amazing home in economics, I can talk with and learn from a lot of people on the science side,” says Heidi Williams, the Class of 1957 Career Development Associate Professor in MIT’s Department of Economics.
MIT professor Heidi Williams

Making a splash in health care economics

Heidi Williams builds all-new data sets to answer questions about innovation and biomedical research.

October 18, 2016

MIT economist Bengt Holmström wins Nobel Prize

Holmström shares award with Oliver Hart for work on contract theory.

October 10, 2016

A new study of rural India shows that modest levels of medical training can improve the quality of health care furnished by informal health care providers. The study was co-authored by Abhijit Banerjee, the Ford International Professor of Economics at MIT and a co-author of the study, pictured here on the right during a visit to India.

Provider, improve thyself

Study shows unlicensed health care practitioners in India improve with modest training.

October 6, 2016

“Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line,” published by HarperCollins, and written by Heather Hendershot, professor of film and media in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies/Writing program.

Changing the face of conservatism in the U.S.

New book by professor Heather Hendershot explores impact of William F. Buckley’s “Firing Line.”

October 4, 2016

Brenna Schneider, second from right, the founder and CEO of apparel maker 99Degrees Custom. The firm was a grand-prize champion at MIT’s first Inclusive Innovation Competition, on September 27, 2016.

Innovation for everyone

Four firms take top prizes in MIT's new Inclusive Innovation Competition.

September 28, 2016

Geoffrey Supran PhD ’16 says “there are a lot of myths floating around about hybrid and electric cars,” for example concerning the manufacture of those vehicles, or their reliance on conventional electricity sources. This often leads people to claim that “they’re no better than your average gasoline vehicle. Our study shows that’s just not true.”

Study: Low-emissions vehicles are less expensive overall

Detailed look at 125 U.S. auto models finds those emitting less carbon are the least expensive to drive.

September 27, 2016

The Laboratory for Social Machines, part of the MIT Media Lab, has launched a project called the Electome that charts Twitter in unique detail.

Q&A: How Twitter explains the 2016 election

“Electome” project charts the national conversation in unique detail.

September 26, 2016

Norvin Richards, professor of linguistics at MIT, and the cover of his new book, “Contiguity Theory,” recently published by the MIT Press.

Sound system

In new book, Norvin Richards explores how our voices shape the rules of grammar.

September 20, 2016

“Design is one of many forces that can contribute to improving society. As a physical piece of most people’s lives, it is very important,” says Brent Ryan, an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Blueprints for renewal

Professor of urban design and public policy Brent Ryan believes good architecture can help revive cities.

September 19, 2016

“If people get good news, they significantly decrease their risk perception,” says Joshua Krieger, a doctoral candidate at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and lead author of a new study on how people respond to personal genomic data. “You see a much bigger change for good news than bad news.”

Genomes, good news, and you

Personal genomic data makes a bigger impact when it portends well, a new study finds.

September 8, 2016

A study led by MIT researchers suggests that using mobile-phone data to track people’s movement provides a deeper picture of exposure to pollution in urban settings, compared to only studying air-quality levels in fixed places.

Measuring exposure to pollution

Mobile-phone data helps researchers study an urban problem in greater detail.

September 1, 2016

Researchers at MIT have for the first time identified the structure of class I fumarate hydratase enzyme, which could be a target for drugs combatting diseases prevalent in the developing world.

Targeting neglected diseases

New enzyme-mapping advance could help drug development.

August 15, 2016

Clockwise from top left: Cathy Drennan, professor of chemistry and biology at MIT; Squire Booker, a professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State; Martin McLaughlin ’15; and an image of LipA.

Research by MIT undergrad helps crack chemical mystery

Study finds enzyme “cannibalizes” itself to perform an essential reaction.

August 8, 2016

After the financial-sector crisis in 2007 and 2008, a large portion of investments people had considered safe were suddenly understood to be risky. And yet, the ensuing flight to safe assets, such as U.S. debt, has come with its own cost.

The safety trap

Lack of secure investments is hindering growth globally, research finds.

August 5, 2016

“It really matters how adults think and talk about what it means to be a child,” says literature professor Marah Gubar, noting that childhood “is not just biological; it’s also a social and cultural matter, so it changes over time, across cultures, and in different [social] classes.”

Your child, the literary talent

Literature professor Marah Gubar studies the creative powers of kids.

July 26, 2016

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