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Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids

James Kirtley discusses the transition from gas to electric motors and the impact these motors have had on modern technologies.

October 24, 2016

“One thing you realize working in this lab is that we are really far away from the robot apocalypse,” says MIT senior Sarah Hensley, who is working with a team of researchers to prepare Valkyrie, a humanoid robot, for future space missions.

Prepping a robot for its journey to Mars

Senior Sarah Hensley aims to improve Earth's most advanced humanoid robot, in advance of its trip to the Red Planet.

October 18, 2016

“It’s not enough to have an original idea. You have to make that idea work for the world,” says Karen Gleason, MIT associate provost and professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Karen Gleason: Inventing at the nanoscale and growing an innovation ecosystem

MIT professor and associate provost modifies surfaces at the nanoscale while enhancing innovation around the Institute.

October 17, 2016

MIT researchers outfitted their cube robot with shock-absorbing “skins” (left) that transfer less than half of the energy that would normally be transferred to the ground.

3-D-printed robots with shock-absorbing skins

By “programming” customized soft materials, CSAIL team can 3-D print safer, nimbler, more durable robots.

October 3, 2016

MIT MechE staff members Emilie Heilig (left) and Yvette Lai (center) listen to Daniel Gonzalez's presentation on his Triple Scissor Extender at the annual Mechanical Engineering Research Exhibition (MERE).

Sharing the excitement of mechanical engineering research

Butterflies, Legos, and robotic insects — oh, my! MechE grad students showcase their latest projects.

September 23, 2016

MIT has over 40 design/build/project spaces — and the MakerLodge program is designed to serve as an entry point into that thriving making community.

Basic training

New MakerLodge program ushers freshmen into the making community.

September 9, 2016

A new imaging system can read closed books. “The Metropolitan Museum in New York showed a lot of interest in this, because they want to, for example, look into some antique books that they don’t even want to touch,” says Barmak Heshmat, a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab.

Judging a book through its cover

New computational imaging method identifies letters printed on first nine pages of a stack of paper.

September 9, 2016

This artist's depiction shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft contacting the asteroid Bennu with its Touch-And-Go Sample Arm. The mission aims to return a sample of Bennu's surface coating to Earth and to return detailed information about the asteroid and its trajectory.

MIT’s REXIS is bound for asteroid Bennu

Instrument will help OSIRIS-REx mission identify locations for collecting an asteroid sample.

September 8, 2016

Maria Zuber, MIT vice president for research, welcomes GE to MIT as a new Sustaining Member of the MIT Energy Initiative. Zuber discussed MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change and the importance of industry engagement in solving global climate and energy challenges.

MIT Energy Initiative welcomes GE as new member and participant in Low-Carbon Energy Centers

GE’s membership marks continued progress on goals of MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change to engage industry in solving global challenges.

August 30, 2016

In this series, a 3-D printed multimaterial shape-memory minigripper, consisting of shape-memory hinges and adaptive touching tips, grasps a cap screw.

3-D printed structures “remember” their shapes

Heat-responsive materials may aid in controlled drug delivery and solar panel tracking.

August 26, 2016

Ginkgo Bioworks staff members Ramya Prathuri (left) and Nate Tedford work at the mass spectrometer in the Ginkgo foundry.

Hacking microbes

Startup’s engineered yeast helps clients produce fragrances and flavors more efficiently.

August 25, 2016

PhD Ezzeldin Hamed, professor Dina Katabi, and visiting researcher Hariharan Rahul developed MegaMIMO to address spectrum crunch.

Solving network congestion

MegaMIMO system from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab speeds data transfer by coordinating multiple routers at the same time.

August 23, 2016

New MIT heads of house for fall 2016: (clockwise from top left) Nuria Jane and Alberto Rodriguez; Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (who will co-lead with Empar Rollano-Hijarrubia, not pictured); Laurie Lynn and Jared Berezin (with Shakedown); and Kristen Covino.

New heads of house join undergraduate and graduate communities to start the fall semester

Areas of expertise include robotics, writing, physics, jewelry-making, and breakfast cereal.

August 18, 2016

Simulations written in Simit, a new programming language, were dozens or even hundreds of times as fast as those written in existing simulation languages. But they required only one-tenth as much code as meticulously hand-optimized simulations that could achieve similar execution speeds.

User-friendly language for programming efficient simulations

New language can speed up computer simulations 200-fold or reduce the code they require by 90 percent.

August 10, 2016

MIT Women's Technology Program tutor Katherine Ward '16 works on a programming exercise with a student.

$1 million gift to support diversity in STEM education

Gift from Hopper-Dean Foundation will enhance computer science and engineering programs for high school and middle school students.

August 1, 2016

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