Alumni/ae

Boston Globe reporter Travis Andersen writes reports that Michael Bloomberg – an entrepreneur, philanthropist and former mayor of New York City – will deliver MIT’s 2019 Commencement address.

The Today Show highlights Spyce, a restaurant started by four MIT alumni where “robots prep and cook the meal and a team member completes it,” explains Sheinelle Jones. “What we are automating are the tough, repetitive monotonous jobs,” says co-founder Michael Farid, “to allow people to focus on what people are really good at - customer service, creativity, the presentation of your bowl.”

MIT startup Rivian has announced they are planning to bring two new electric vehicles to the market in 2020: an SUV and pickup truck with four motors, reports Russ Mitchell for the Los Angeles Times.

In an article for Physics World about unique scales of measurement, Stephen Ornes highlights the “smoot,” a measurement of distance equivalent to the height of MIT alumnus Oliver Smoot. Ornes, who spoke with Smoot for the story, notes that he “eventually led the leading organizations behind setting standards of measurement.”

A new exhibit at the MIT Museum spotlights the work of MIT alumnus N.G. Herreshoff, whose work greatly influenced the boatbuilding industry, reports Kari Bodnarchuk for The Boston Globe. Bodnarchuk notes that Herreshoff, “built the first modern catamarans, the first torpedo boats for the US Navy, the country’s first steam-powered fishing vessels, and America’s Cup boats.”

MIT alumnus Francis Desouza, president and CEO of the Illumina Corporation, has been named to Fortune’s list of the top 20 Businesspeople of the Year.

Boston Globe reporter Amy Crawford highlights MIT startup Spoiler Alert, which “helps food businesses manage surplus inventory (its customers include Sysco, the world’s largest food wholesaler) and runs an online marketplace for discounted food sales and tax-deductible donations throughout New England.”

TechCrunch reporter Megan Rose Dickey writes about Atolla, an MIT startup that has developed a machine learning system “to identify skin health issues and then recommend the right skin care products based on what affects your skin.”

Forbes contributor Vivian Nunez speaks with MIT alumna Jessica Marquez about what inspired her to pursue a career in STEM and how she encourages other Latinas to succeed. “I recommend finding mentors,” says Marquez. “I may have never chosen to pursue a PhD at MIT if I had not met Professor Dava Newman – she continues to be a wonderful mentor.”

TechCrunch reporter Ingrid Lunden highlights RapidSOS, an MIT startup that “helps increase the funnel of information that is transmitted to emergency services alongside a call for help.”

Motherboard reporter Jason Koebler writes about how MIT alumnus Ben Adida has started a non-profit aimed at building a safe and open-source voting machine. Koebler explains that Adida plans to use “already existing, commodity hardware and open-source software to compete with the proprietary, expensive, and often insecure voting machines that currently dominate the market.”

Boston Globe reporter Katie Johnston speaks with several MIT researchers about their work developing technology that is aimed at improving collaboration between humans and robots. Prof. Julie Shah notes that offloading easier decisions onto a machine “would allow people to focus on the parts of job that truly require human judgment and experience.”

In an article for Forbes, Jim Vinoski highlights MIT alumnus Peter Zieve’s company Electroimpact (EI), which produces equipment to help manufacturers create airplanes. Vinoski notes that the electromagnetic riveting method Zieve invented is “much more precise than the old manual processes and cleaner and quieter than the hydraulic equipment.”

Writing for the American History Magazine, Sarah Richardson highlights the trailblazing path of Ellen Swallow Richards. Richardson notes that Swallow Richards was a “one-woman parade of firsts: first female student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, first female fellow of the American Association of Mining and Metallurgy, first female professor at MIT.”

Motherboard reporter Kaleigh Rogers writes that MIT researchers have developed an AI system that can generate scary-sounding music. Rogers explains that the researchers used a “huge number of midi files and a handful of horror movies soundtracks as ‘primer melodies’ to give the AI a starting point to make up the rest of the soundtrack.”