Climate change

An MIT study shows that electrical vehicle batteries could have a useful and profitable second life as backup storage for grid-scale solar photovoltaic installations, where they could perform for more than a decade in this less demanding role. This image shows a ‘cut-away’ view of a lithium-ion battery over a background of cars and solar panels.

Solar energy farms could offer second life for electric vehicle batteries

Modeling study shows battery reuse systems could be profitable for both electric vehicle companies and grid-scale solar operations.

May 22, 2020

"I really like the way the project teams are designed to be fluid. Everyone knows who’s working on what, and you can sit in on meetings if you want to. We all have a limited amount of time, but the resources are there,”. says Erica Salazar.

The quest for practical fusion energy sources

Graduate student Erica Salazar tackles a magnetic engineering challenge.

May 21, 2020

Scientists prepare to deploy an underway CTD from the back deck of a research vessel.

Towable sensor free-falls to measure vertical slices of ocean conditions

Instrument may help scientists assess the ocean’s response to climate change.

May 20, 2020

“My goal is to address climate change as an innovator and creator, whether by pushing the boundaries of science” through research or pursuing a zero-carbon future as an entrepreneur, says MIT PhD candidate Pablo Ducru.

A scientist turns to entrepreneurship

After delivering novel computational methods for nuclear problems, nuclear science and engineering PhD candidate Pablo Ducru plunges into startup life.

May 20, 2020

MIT scientists suggest sea ice extent in the Southern Ocean may increase with glacial melting in Antarctica. This image shows a view of the Earth on Sept. 21, 2005 with the full Antarctic region visible.

Melting glaciers cool the Southern Ocean

Research suggests glacial melting might explain the recent decadal cooling and sea ice expansion across Antarctica's Southern Ocean.

May 17, 2020

Susan Solomon has earned the Killian Award, the MIT faculty’s highest honor, for 2020-21. The award recognizes Solomon’s “leadership in working toward real-world solutions to address the global climate crisis.”

Susan Solomon earns Killian Award, MIT’s highest faculty honor

Atmospheric chemist is recognized for her “leadership in working toward real-world solutions to address the global climate crisis.”

May 13, 2020

"Climate Science, Risk & Solutions" tells the story of climate change though quizzes, interactive graphics, narration, and videos.

Climate knowledge for everyone

New interactive website leads the public through the knowns (and unknowns) of climate change.

May 12, 2020

In the lower left corner of this photograph, researchers prepare a submersible device. “Together with our collaborators in the Maldives, we are designing, testing, building, and deploying submersible devices that, based simply on their geometry in relationship to the ocean waves and currents, promote sand accumulation in specific areas,” says associate professor Skylar Tibbits.

3 Questions: Harnessing wave power to rebuild islands

In the Maldives, an MIT team is conducting experiments to combat sea-level rise by redirecting natural sand movement.

May 11, 2020

Left to right: David Sabatini, Kerry Emanuel, and Peter Shor, 2020 recipients of BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

Kerry Emanuel, David Sabatini, and Peter Shor receive BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge awards

Laureates recognized for contributions to climate change, biomedicine, and quantum cryptography.

May 8, 2020

MIT climate scientist Kerry Emanuel has been elected a foreign member of the Royal Society.

Kerry Emanuel elected a Royal Society foreign member

Professor of atmospheric science honored for his work on atmospheric physics and dynamics of tropical weather patterns.

May 6, 2020

Anne McCants, MIT professor of history, describes how we can derive hope about climate change by learning from human societies that thrived in difficult conditions of the preindustrial past.

3 Questions: Anne McCants on climate change in history

How, in the nadir of the Little Ice Age, did the Dutch generate a golden age?

May 6, 2020

Beyond the hyper-rational debates of "jobs vs. environment" — and based on her own family heritage and home territory — MIT anthropologist Amy Moran-Thomas illuminates "the cultural underpinnings that have allowed anti-science propaganda to gain traction in America and continue in the face of mounting evidence."

Associate Professor Amy Moran-Thomas receives the 2020 Levitan Prize in the Humanities

The award will support the MIT anthropologist's research on the cultural dimensions of climate denialism.

April 24, 2020

A glimpse into the microscale world in the ocean: marine bacteria (green and cyan) feed on nutrients exuding from a genetically modified phytoplankton (orange). These bacteria release a substance called DMS that contributes to cloud formation.

Researchers explore ocean microbes’ role in climate effects

When they encounter nutrient oases in the marine desert, marine bacteria release a gas involved in climate regulation.

April 23, 2020

While superior battery technology is still in our future, MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber is already encouraged by the increased use of renewable energy.

Maria Zuber on climate change: “Breakthroughs will happen”

MIT’s vice president for research identifies three areas that show particular promise for climate action.

April 22, 2020

This iconic photograph of Earth, taken by Apollo 17 astronauts on December 7, 1972, is considered NASA’s most widely distributed picture. It is the first photograph that clearly showed the full Earth.

On Earth Day, lessons from Covid-19 pandemic offer hope

“Every emergency reveals that ‘impossible’ things are actually doable,” President Rafael Reif writes in Boston Globe op-ed.