Center for International Studies

Luis Videgaray, director of MIT’s AI Policy for the World Project, talking at his Starr Forum lecture, hosted by the Center for International Studies, on February 19, 2020.

A road map for artificial intelligence policy

In a Starr Forum talk, Luis Videgaray, director of MIT’s AI Policy for the World Project, outlines key facets of regulating new technologies.

February 20, 2020

Jeanne Guillemin was described by The New York Times as a “scientific sleuth” and the Washington Post as a “pioneering researcher” in obituaries that lauded her groundbreaking work in biological warfare — a field where men had long outnumbered their female colleagues.

Jeanne Guillemin, biological warfare expert and senior advisor at MIT, dies at 76

A sought-after analyst on the use of biological weapons, she was a model of interdisciplinary excellence to all — especially women.

January 7, 2020

“There is a grand strategy of fear at play here, and to be frank, it is, for the most part, effective,” says Nigerian journalist Shola Lawal. “It’s hard not to self-censor when you know you can be kidnapped or detained and that you’ll only become another statistic.”

3 Questions: Shola Lawal on human rights and social justice

The Nigerian journalist is the recipient of a prestigious fellowship that provides residencies at MIT, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times.

December 17, 2019

MIT and Lamborghini recently filed a joint patent for a material that will serve as the technological base for a new generation of supercapacitors. Here, Patricia Das ’17, who interned at Automobili Lamborghini through MIT-Italy, is seen at work at Lamborghini Santa Agata Bolognese Labs.

Lamborghini and MIT pave the way for the electric supercar of the future

MIT-Italy helps build supercharged partnerships on campus and across the globe.

November 19, 2019

According to MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber, there are two important barriers to MIT research influencing policy decisions: the translation of sometimes complicated research findings into policy-relevant lessons, and making connections between MIT faculty and relevant government policymakers. The MIT Policy Lab has been very successful in overcoming both barriers.

3 Questions: Jonathan Gruber on academics engaging with policymakers

Professor of economics cites the importance of initiatives like the MIT Policy Lab, which helps academics focus some energy on influencing public policy.

November 6, 2019

Professor Lydia Bourouiba’s work was featured at the TEDMED 2019 meeting. Her invited talk outlined how a deeper understanding of the fluid dynamics and biophysics of transmission can provide the power to predict and control the spread of airborne infectious diseases.

MIT Policy Lab issues fifth call for proposals to faculty and researchers

Based within the Center for International Studies, the lab provides outreach support to help MIT researchers connect with the policy world.

October 22, 2019

“My hope is that the endowment will help women graduate students find new options for special projects that will energize their sense of inquiry and search for knowledge,” says Guillemin, who has been a research associate and senior advisor at the MIT Security Studies Program since 2006.

At the Center for International Studies, a student endowment for women in international affairs

Established by distinguished sociologist Jeanne Guillemin, the endowment will provide financial support for women at MIT pursuing a PhD in international affairs.

October 21, 2019

Richard Samuels, the Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT Center for International Studies, introduces Suzanne Berger, MIT’s John M. Deutch Institute Professor, and Jan-Werner Mueller, a professor of politics at Princeton University, at MIT’s Starr Forum event on global populism, Sept. 12.

Understanding populism

At MIT forum, scholars wrestle with the dynamics of a global political trend.

September 16, 2019

“I chose MIT because no other political science graduate program had such strengths in both East Asia and security studies,” says Fiona Cunningham PhD ’19. “I want to understand the changing nature of warfare and how new technologies have become both opportunities and restraints for countries in international politics.”

The intersection of technology and war

MIT excels in teaching the science and technology associated with the operation of societies, businesses, and militaries, says Fiona Cunningham PhD ’19.

August 13, 2019