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Engineer and physicist Deblina Sarkar has been appointed as an assistant professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she will lead the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek group.

Deblina Sarkar joins the MIT Media Lab faculty

New research group aims to bridge the gap between nanotechnology and synthetic biology.

February 19, 2020

In a diamond crystal, three carbon atom nuclei (shown in blue) surround an empty spot called a nitrogen vacancy center, which behaves much like a single electron (shown in red). The carbon nuclei act as quantum bits, or qubits, and it turns out the primary source of noise that disturbs them comes from the jittery “electron” in the middle. By understanding the single source of that noise, it be...

Correcting the “jitters” in quantum devices

A new study suggests a path to more efficient error correction, which may help make quantum computers and sensors more practical.

February 18, 2020

A center of excellence powered by MIT.nano, SENSE.nano received substantial interest in its 2019 call for proposals, making for stiff competition.

SENSE.nano awards seed grants in optoelectronics, interactive manufacturing

The mission of SENSE.nano is to foster the development and use of novel sensors, sensing systems, and sensing solutions.

February 13, 2020

MIT researchers have created an automated text-generating system that pinpoints and replaces specific information in relevant Wikipedia sentences, while keeping the language similar to how humans write and edit.

Automated system can rewrite outdated sentences in Wikipedia articles

Text-generating tool pinpoints and replaces specific information in sentences while retaining humanlike grammar and style.

February 12, 2020

Left to right: Joe Chung (Redstar), Ayah Bdeir (littleBits), Nan-Wei Gong (Figur8), Rana El Kaliouby (Affectiva), Eran Egozy (Harmonix), and John Underkoffler (Oblong) participate in a panel discussion about their entrepreneurial paths out of the Media Lab.

Out of the lab and into the world

E14 Venture Summit celebrates the diversity of spinoff companies from the Media Lab.

February 11, 2020

Robert G. Gallager, emeritus professor of electrical engineering and computer science (left) with Svante Pääbo, director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, during a press conference in Tokyo on Feb. 4, 2020. Gallager and Pääbo are this year's Japan Prize Laureates.

Robert Gallager wins 2020 Japan Prize

The EECS emeritus professor is recognized for groundbreaking contributions in information and coding theory.

February 7, 2020

Assistant Professor Karthish Manthiram (center), postdoc Kyoungsuk Jin (right), graduate student Joseph Maalouf (left), and their colleagues are working to help decarbonize the chemical industry by finding ways to drive critical chemical reactions using electricity from renewable sources.

Decarbonizing the making of consumer products

Researchers are devising new methods of synthesizing chemicals used in goods from clothing, detergents, and antifreeze to pharmaceuticals and plastics.

February 5, 2020

With a new technique, MIT researchers can peel and stack thin films of metal oxides — chemical compounds that can be designed to have unique magnetic and electronic properties. The films can be mixed and matched to create multi-functional, flexible electronic devices, such as solar-powered skins and electronic fabrics.

Engineers mix and match materials to make new stretchy electronics

Next-generation devices made with new “peel and stack” method may include electronic chips worn on the skin.

February 5, 2020

Professor J. Kim Vandiver, Mark Belanger, and others celebrate the Edgerton Student Shop's move across Vassar Street. The new shop is next door to the Metropolis Shop, part of Project Manus.

Edgerton Center celebrates reopening of its student shop in Building 6C

Its former location, Building 44 on Vassar Street, will soon become the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.

February 4, 2020

New research by engineers at MIT and elsewhere could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer.

New electrode design may lead to more powerful batteries

An MIT team has devised a lithium metal anode that could improve the longevity and energy density of future batteries.

February 3, 2020

MIT researchers have discovered a method to predict and control the length of tunnels in solid germanium by laterally growing it over silicon oxide strips (shown in yellow) on top of silicon (green), depicted from left to right. Germanium, shown in purple, smoothly covers the silicon but forms voids and tunnels (lighter shade of purple) where germanium and silicon oxide meet. The voids and tunnels...

A new facet for germanium

MIT researchers grow perfectly shaped germanium tunnels on silicon oxide with controllable length.

January 31, 2020

This 8-inch wafer contains phase-change pixels that can be controlled to modulate light. Researchers are studying the properties and behaviors of the pixels to inform the creation of future devices that use phase-change materials.

Researchers discover a new way to control infrared light

The new method could impact devices used in imaging, machine learning, and more.

January 30, 2020

Research Scientist Nathan Howard used data from MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak as the basis for an award-winning paper.

Nathan Howard wins Nuclear Fusion Award

Researcher unravels the mystery of heat loss in turbulent fusion plasmas.

January 29, 2020

MathWorks fellows with Anantha Chandrakasan (back row, center), dean of the MIT School of Engineering. Not pictured: Fellows Pasquale Antonante, Alireza Fallah, and Kate Reidy.

Accelerating the pace of engineering

The 2019-20 School of Engineering MathWorks Fellows are using MATLAB and Simulink to advance discovery and innovation across disciplines.

January 28, 2020

An ion-trap chip (at center) is used to hold two calcium and strontium ions still as the qubits they house become entangled. The inset shows a magnified, false-color image of light scattering from each ion in the trap as they are laser cooled.

A trapped-ion pair may help scale up quantum computers

Qubits made from strontium and calcium ions can be precisely controlled by technology that already exists.