Levitating magnet brings space physics to fusion
Tests on a machine that mimics a planet’s magnetic field show that it may offer an ‘alternative path’ to taming nuclear fusion for power generation.
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Temporary gains
MIT economist finds temporary jobs may actually reduce workers’ income and employment prospects
Reporter’s Notebook: Workshop seeks answers to Haiti crisis
Community members gather information with an eye toward developing long-term strategies to assist the quake-devastated nation.
Explained: Gallager codes
In 1993, scientists achieved the maximum rate for data transmission — only to find they’d been scooped 30 years earlier by an MIT grad student.
Extreme makeovers in space
Research suggesting that near-Earth encounters can ‘shake’ asteroids opens the door to a new field: asteroid seismology
3 Questions: Lawrence Vale on rebuilding Haiti
An MIT urban design expert explains why devastated cities are nearly always rebuilt — but why Haiti faces special challenges to reconstruction.
Picture-driven computing
New research could enable computer programming based on screen shots, not just code
New ‘nanoburrs’ could help fight heart disease
Targeted nanoparticles can home in on damaged vascular tissue and may be used to deliver drugs that help clear arteries
Explained: The Shannon limit
A 1948 paper by Claude Shannon SM ’37, PhD ’40 created the field of information theory — and set its research agenda for the next 50 years.
Senior wins Churchill scholarship
Maria Monks will pursue graduate studies in mathematics in Britain
Three professors win top national early-career honors
Presidential awards to Buehler, Dawson and Sheffield were presented this week at a White House ceremony
Institute releases report on minority faculty
Report of the Initiative on Faculty Race and Diversity recommends ways to strengthen recruitment and retention of under-represented minority faculty
Y chromosomes evolving rapidly
By comparing human and chimpanzee Y chromosome sequences, Whitehead Institute geneticists show the Y is undergoing swift change.