Search Stories

"My own work has drawn heavily on a number of normally distant disciplines," says Richard Nielsen, MIT assistant professor of political science. "I’m convinced that ... despite the tendency for scholars to remain in our own disciplinary silos, the big breakthroughs on complex issues will come at the intersections of fields, from researchers and teams that are willing to bridge disciplinary divid...

3 Questions with Richard Nielsen: How political science helps combat terrorism

Assistant Professor Richard Nielsen explores why some Muslim clerics adopt the ideology of militant jihad while most do not.

February 3, 2017

MIT Professor Tom Leighton (left) and the late Danny Lewin SM '97 have been named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Professor Tom Leighton and Danny Lewin SM ’98 named to National Inventors Hall of Fame

Akamai founders honored for applying algorithms to solve web congestion.

February 2, 2017

Dawn Wendell, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering, helps a student during the motor debugging class in 6.A01 (Mens et Manus: Building on the Science Core).

Adding hands-on practice to science and engineering classes

A new advising seminar incorporates making and other types of hands-on learning to enhance first-year required courses.

January 30, 2017

Letter to the community: Update regarding Executive Order, thoughts on moving forward

January 30, 2017

In London, a celebration of MIT’s innovative spirit and growing European community

The Better World series will continue in Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Washington.

January 27, 2017

MIT Media Lab spinout Changing Environments is the brains behind the solar-powered Soofa Bench, which is equipped with an embedded charging station for mobile devices that also connects to wireless networks. Recently, the startup released the solar-powered Soofa Sign, which displays public transit times, weather, and events, among other city information.

Smart city fixtures

Startup brings solar-powered, phone-charging park benches and digital signs to cities worldwide.

January 27, 2017

Professor John Ochsendorf and his freshman seminar students stand in front of Henry Moore's "Three-Piece Reclining Figure, Draped."

Art, engineering, and architecture

Freshman seminar inspires students to see the world with fresh eyes.

January 19, 2017

“If you really understand the phenomena, you can reduce it to a few nondimensional parameters,” MIT mechanical engineer Kripa Varanasi says. That collapses the complexity into manageable formulas and phase diagrams, “and then we can design new processes, new products, and zero-tradeoff solutions.” That approach, he says, has been “at the heart of the companies we’ve started.”

Kripa Varanasi: Innovating at interfaces

MIT engineer’s research on surfaces is improving everything from power plants to ketchup bottles.

January 19, 2017

Feng Zhang named James and Patricia Poitras Professor in Neuroscience

CRISPR pioneer named to inaugural chair created by Patricia and James Poitras '63, founders of MIT’s Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research.

January 13, 2017

MIT Alumni Elaine Chew (left), Noam Angrist (top right), and Huma Yusuf (bottom right)

MIT in London

The city offers an ideal home for MIT alumni whose work spans disciplines and continents.

January 12, 2017

As the CEO and co-founder of E3G, a leading environmental think tank based in London, Nick Mabey SM ’93 is an influential player in the world of environmental policy. He describes his MIT education as “a well from which I have drawn directly over the course of my career.”

Clearing the Old Smoke

An MIT alumnus works on global climate change — starting in London.

January 12, 2017

Through the RAPID Manufacturing Institute, MITEI and partner organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy support researchers’ studies of modular chemical process intensification. Process intensification involves combining many of the steps of traditional manufacturing — mixing, reacting, and separation — into a single process. This could dramatically reduce the size and scale of equipme...

U.S. Department of Energy announces MIT Energy Initiative will join new Manufacturing USA Institute

MITEI faculty affiliates to contribute clean energy expertise to national coalition that will address manufacturing challenges in energy-intensive processing industries.

January 11, 2017

Since 2014, total campus emissions have dropped by 7 percent. Ninety-seven percent of the Institute’s emissions are associated with the operation of labs, offices, residences, and other building facilities across campus.

Campus greenhouse gas emissions down 7 percent since 2014

MIT releases results of its second campus-wide inventory.

January 11, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in an address at MIT on Monday that the effort to limit climate change was a dire “race against time” but one that could be successful due to the economic promise of renewable energy.

John Kerry: Climate drive an urgent “race against time”

At MIT, U.S. Secretary of State highlights peril of climate change, economic promise of clean energy.

January 9, 2017

Kevin Patrick Simon (left) sets solar panels in place with villagers at a pilot site in Jharkhand, India. Simon, an MIT PhD candidate in mechanical engineering, is studying solar irrigation.

How engineering students are seeking to solve major food and water security problems

Students with a common passion for food and water security share their research at the MIT Water and Food Security Symposium.