Faculty receive promotions in the School of Architecture and Planning for 2026
The range of faculty disciplines showcases the breadth of research and scholarship across the school.
Topic
Aeronautical and astronautical engineering
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System helps humans predict when self-driving cars will make mistakes
A new method, called CW-Net, translates the reasoning process of an autonomous vehicle’s AI system into understandable concepts that explain its behavior.
Gulfstream IV makes its long-awaited return to Lincoln Laboratory
The modified aircraft will support an ongoing US Air Force program to assess and enhance the survivability of air and space vehicles.
Study: Peptides can form well-defined structures in harsh, Venus-like conditions
New research offers support for the possibility that complex biological molecules could exist in the highly acidic environment of Venus’s cloud layer.
A new kind of aircraft departs an MIT classroom and arrives at an Ohio factory
Electra’s hybrid, fixed-wing aircraft, which grew out of a class project, could make travel easier for passengers taking shorter trips.
How to design a space habitat that supports its residents’ mental health
A new online platform helps engineers look beyond survival mode when designing habitats for extreme living conditions.
Emery Brown, Daniel Hastings, and Douglas Lauffenburger named Institute Professors
Longtime professors and experts in the fields of anesthesiology, aerospace engineering, and biological engineering, respectively, receive MIT’s highest faculty honor.
Can AI build a jet engine? JARVIS Challenge tests role of AI copilots in tough-tech engineering
MIT students designed, built, and tested a jet engine with AI copilots, assessing AI’s usefulness in developing high-performance aerospace systems.
MIT student teams win top honors in NASA competition
Three MIT teams took five top awards in the 2026 NASA RASC-AL Competition for designing critical elements for the moon base and future missions to Mars.
LLMs help robots understand vague instructions and focus on key details
To help robots do chores in places like homes and factories, a new approach from MIT uses one language model to clarify users’ instructions, then another to ignore irrelevant info.
Exploring the societal impacts of AI
During the AI and Society Forum, leading MIT researchers examined critical questions about AI’s influence on employment and democracy.
New chip could help tiny robots traverse complex environments
Researchers combined an efficient algorithm with dedicated hardware to rapidly generate 3D maps for navigation using minimal memory and power.
QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2026-27
Ranking at the top for the 15th year in a row, the Institute also places first in 12 subject areas.
Could AI tell you where you left your keys?
A new spatial memory system for robots efficiently captures details about the objects they see while exploring their environment.
The tenured engineers of 2026
Ten faculty members have been granted tenure in five units across MIT’s School of Engineering.