MIT community in 2020: A year in review
In a year full of challenges, top Institute stories dealt with resilience, innovation, and MIT’s drive to embody its longstanding values in a changing world.
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Dava Newman named director of MIT Media Lab
Visionary astronautics researcher, explorer, and expert on human adaptation to space will lead the Institute’s world-renowned research center.
A new approach to studying religion and politics
MIT political scientist Richard Nielsen combines ethnography and big data to analyze clerics and preachers in the Islamic world.
With campus as a test bed, climate action starts and continues at MIT
MIT serves as a laboratory for a multifaceted approach to address the Institute’s own contributions to climate change.
Evelyn Hu delivers 2020 Dresselhaus Lecture on leveraging defects at the nanoscale
Physicist and Harvard University professor discusses silicon vacancies, reflects on inspiration from Mildred Dresselhaus.
Q&A: Holly Jackson on building a cosmic family tree
Undergraduate in electrical engineering and computer science contributes to startling new astronomy research.
Students present product prototypes inspired by kindness
Professor David Wallace and his team developed class 2.s009 (Explorations in Product Design) to give students the safest, best possible hands-on educational experience.
Seeing the values behind the numbers
In a new book, “Data Action,” Associate Professor Sarah Williams issues a call for thinking ethically about data today.
Focusing on innovative solutions to the world’s energy challenges
The MIT Energy Club hosts its sixth annual EnergyHack with 260 participants joining in from around the globe in this all-virtual event.
Illustrating Covid-19 hygiene best practices
Jasmine Florentine ’11, SM ’15 combines engineering and art to illustrate educational posters related to Covid-19.
MIT opens childcare center in Graduate Tower at Site 4
State-of-the-art facility is the new home to MIT’s childcare center previously located in Eastgate (Building E55).
3 Questions: Joshua Cohen on the qualities of good jobs
MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future research brief examines what makes for “good jobs,” and the public-private policies that can help shape them.
Computer-aided creativity in robot design
MIT researchers’ new system optimizes the shape of robots for traversing various terrain types.
How humans use objects in novel ways to solve problems
What's SSUP? The Sample, Simulate, Update cognitive model developed by MIT researchers learns to use tools like humans do.
Second annual MIT Science Bowl Invitational takes virtual format
High school students from across the country competed in an all-day online competition.