Stephanie McFeeters writes for The Boston Globe about the social media campaign #ILookLikeAnEngineer, highlighting the MIT students, faculty and alumni who participated in the trend by posting their photos. The campaign stemmed from the negative response one female engineer received after appearing in an ad campaign for her IT company.
CNN reporter Lauriel Cleveland writes about the MIT Open Style Lab, which brings students together to design clothing for individuals with disabilities. "Dressing is such a basic and intimate need,” explains MIT graduate and Open Style Lab co-founder Grace Teo. “We hope to restore the independence and dignity of dressing to people with disabilities."
Fred Thys reports for WBUR that the MIT connection shared by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, likely had a positive impact on the nuclear negotiations. “Salehi and Moniz likely bonded over their shared connection to MIT — and ultimately, the pair were able to help forge a historic deal,” Thys explains.
Justine Hofherr writes for Boston.com about Prof. Dava Newman, highlighting her new role as deputy administrator of NASA, her work planning for a manned mission to Mars and her goal to encourage more young girls to pursue careers in STEM. “I’m motivated every single day because my passion is exploration,” says Newman.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes about the growing influence of MIT economists in policy positions and in policy discourse. “M.I.T.-trained economists, especially Ph.D.s from the 1970s, play an outsized role at policy institutions and in policy discussion across the Western world,” Krugman explains.
MIT startup LiquiGlide has announced that they are partnering with the international food packaging company Orkla to use their non-stick coating inside mayonnaise bottles, reports Katie Palmer for Wired. Palmer explains that LiquiGlide has “created an algorithm to optimize the thermodynamic relationships between a textured solid on the inside of the bottle, its liquid 'lubricant,' and the product in question.”
MIT spinout LiquiGlide has signed a deal with Orkla that will allow the company to use LiquiGlide’s non-stick coating in their mayonnaise bottles, reports Chris Foxx for the BBC. Foxx explains that a customized version of the LiquiGlide “coating is created for each product, resulting in a "permanently wet" surface inside containers that helps the product slip out.”
BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman writes that MIT startup LiquiGlide has signed a deal with Orkla ASA to license LiquiGlide’s “slippery coatings for a brand of mayonnaise due to be launched in the next year in northern and central Europe.”
Kelsey D. Atherton writes for Popular Science about Explorer, a camera ball designed by MIT alumnus Francisco Aguilar that can be used by first responders to survey an area. “Rescue workers could drop Explorers into nooks and crannies that are otherwise inaccessible for larger tools."
Prof. Emeritus James Fay, who served as the chairman of the Massachusetts Port Authority and helped launch the Union of Concerned Scientists, died on June 2, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. “To know him and benefit from his wisdom, courage, kindness, and friendship was a gift I will treasure for the rest of my life,” says senior lecturer Frederick Salvucci.
Boston Globe reporter Katherine Landergan writes that during MIT’s 2015 Commencement, U.S. CTO Megan Smith ’86, SM ’88 urged graduates to “be kind, be inclusive, be open.” President L. Rafael Reif asked graduates to have a “bold willingness to disrupt the status quo, to make the world a better place.”
A group of MIT graduates has launched a new startup dedicated to making it easier for people to donate to charity, reports Lauren Landry for Boston Magazine. “We’re making it easier to donate to charity,” says alumnus Charles Huang. “You shouldn’t have to think about how to do it, just why.”
MIT celebrated the induction of Robert Robinson Taylor, the Institute’s first African American graduate, into the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series. “Robert Robinson Taylor graduated MIT in 1892 and is believed to be the country’s first academically trained black architect,” reports Sara Feijo for The Cambridge Chronicle.
Boston.com reporter Bill Griffith writes that MIT and the New England Motor Press Association are holding their fifth technology conference on May 21 at the Media Lab. During the event, MIT alumnus Chris Brewer will receive the “Winter Vehicle of New England” on behalf of Ford.
Boston Globe reporter Laura Krantz writes about an event held at MIT to honor Robert Robinson Taylor, MIT’s first African-American graduate who was honored earlier this year with a new postage stamp.