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An MIT study shows that electrical vehicle batteries could have a useful and profitable second life as backup storage for grid-scale solar photovoltaic installations, where they could perform for more than a decade in this less demanding role. This image shows a ‘cut-away’ view of a lithium-ion battery over a background of cars and solar panels.

Solar energy farms could offer second life for electric vehicle batteries

Modeling study shows battery reuse systems could be profitable for both electric vehicle companies and grid-scale solar operations.

May 22, 2020

Microsoft President Brad Smith’s conversation with MIT Professor Daniela Rus on May 14 spanned a wide range of topics, from the challenges of Covid-19 to the security of online voting. The event was held as part of MIT’s “Hot Topics in Computing” series.

Microsoft President Brad Smith talks data, Covid-19, and a potential “digital 9/11”

Smith spoke with CSAIL Director Daniela Rus as part of a special series co-presented by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.

May 21, 2020

The startup Fireflies.ai is helping people get the most out of their meetings with a note-taking, information-organizing virtual assistant named Fred.

Fireflies helps companies get more out of meetings

Startup makes meeting data searchable and shareable, and automates data entry into workplace apps.

May 21, 2020

The researchers ran hundreds of atom-by-atom simulations of the propagation of cracks through different kinds of layered material, to see which ones were most effective at stopping the cracks from making it all the way through the material. Shown here are a variety of simulation runs showing different outcomes.

Machine-learning tool could help develop tougher materials

Engineers develop a rapid screening system to test fracture resistance in billions of potential materials.

May 20, 2020

“My goal is to address climate change as an innovator and creator, whether by pushing the boundaries of science” through research or pursuing a zero-carbon future as an entrepreneur, says MIT PhD candidate Pablo Ducru.

A scientist turns to entrepreneurship

After delivering novel computational methods for nuclear problems, nuclear science and engineering PhD candidate Pablo Ducru plunges into startup life.

May 20, 2020

White blood cells are among the first to mount an attack against sepsis, a deadly complication of Covid-19. In a project led by MIT Professor Daniela Rus, researchers are developing a machine learning system to detect an activated immune response to sepsis which could lead to earlier, more aggressive treatment. Here, a white blood cell attacks malaria.

Marshaling artificial intelligence in the fight against Covid-19

The MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab is funding 10 research projects aimed at addressing the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.

May 19, 2020

Sapple, a system developed at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, analyzes in-home appliance usage to better understand health patterns, using just radio signals and a smart electricity meter.

What can your microwave tell you about your health?

An MIT system uses wireless signals to measure in-home appliance usage to better understand health tendencies.

May 18, 2020

Letter regarding efforts to chart MIT’s course for the summer, fall, and beyond

May 15, 2020

Canan Dagdeviren, an assistant professor at the MIT Media Lab, has implemented lean management principles in her cleanroom lab space, also called “YellowBox.”

“Lean lab” approach enables quick research ramp down

MIT lab offers a model for cost savings, productivity, and safety; principles may also facilitate efficient reopening in the future.

May 14, 2020

Professor Daniel S. Kemp and Octavian, his avian companion of over 30 years.

Daniel Kemp, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 83

Organic chemist and MIT professor for over 40 years was “a sui generis Renaissance man.”

May 8, 2020

In this photograph of fabric, you can see the green light of functional fibers. “No human-made objects are more ubiquitous or exposed to more vital data than the clothes we all wear,” says doctoral student Gabriel Locke. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow teach our fabrics to sense, store, analyze, extract and communicate this potentially useful information?”

3 Questions: The rapidly unfolding future of smart fabrics

Soon, your clothes may be able to monitor your vital signs, analyze the results, and warn you of health risks.

May 8, 2020

MIT researchers have developed a kind of creativity test for generative models to see how far they can go in visualizing objects in photos from various angles and in different colors. The tool shows how much the model's imagination depends on the variety of images it has seen.

Visualizing the world beyond the frame

Researchers test how far artificial intelligence models can go in dreaming up varied poses and colors of objects and animals in photos.

May 6, 2020

MIT seniors Siranush Babakhanova (left) and Michal Gala have been named 2020 Knight-Hennessy Scholars.

Siranush Babakhanova and Michal Gala named 2020 Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Seniors will receive full funding for graduate studies at Stanford University.

May 5, 2020

Abhijit Banerjee, Bonnie Berger, and Roger Summons (left to right) are new members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Three from MIT elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2020

Faculty members Abhijit Banerjee, Bonnie Berger, and Roger Summons elected by peers for outstanding contributions to research.

May 1, 2020

The TILT team pitches at the IDEAS Generator dinner in fall 2019.

MIT IDEAS celebrates social innovation at the Institute

Seven teams of MIT social innovators receive funding to continue their ventures.