Tim Brothers, who manages MIT's George R. Wallace Jr. Astrophysical Observatory, speaks with Joy Richard of WickedLocal about the upcoming Perseid meteor shower and the observatory’s annual viewing party. Brothers says the event is a great way to get nearby residents interested in space: They grab the opportunity to look through the telescopes, take a tour of the observatory, and look in awe at the 60 to 70 meteors per-hour.
Boeing will establish a research center in one of MIT’s new buildings in Kendall Square, reports Zeninjor Enwemeka for WBUR. Provost Martin Schmidt explains that Boeing’s proximity to campus offers MIT, “a research partner, somebody who brings very interesting and important problems in future transportation systems.”
WGBH reporter Gabrielle Emanuel speaks with Research Affiliate Catherine D’Ignazio about how she launched the Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon as a graduate student at MIT, and how the hackathon inspired new innovations in the breast pump industry. “In no other space of technology would the technology provide for such a terrible experience,” says D’Ignazio of the state of the breast pump.
MIT graduate students Ellen Shakespear and Stephanie Lee are opening “an artist workspace and exhibition pop-up,” known as Spaceus, in the historic Roslindale substation, reports Jules Struck for Boston Magazine. The startup, which is partly funded by MIT, “provides a sustainable service to local artists, but also serves as a neighborhood gathering place,” according to Lee.
Bay State Banner reporter Susan Saccoccia spotlights the “Walls of Unity” mural in Kendall Square. Saccoccia explains that the mural is, “a project of Creative Current, a multi-year initiative sponsored by MIT to build artistic and professional skills in local youth and to create connections between residents and the MIT community.”
Yahoo! reporter Elise Solé highlights how Alejandra Falla successfully completed her PhD studies at MIT while pregnant with her daughter, Clara. Clara sported a miniature MIT regalia to Commencement. “It started as a joke but we decided that Clara had earned her Ph.D. in the womb,” says Falla. “She deserved to graduate with me.”
During her Commencement address at MIT, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg urged graduates to try to make the world a better place, reports Abigail Hess for CNBC. "We are accountable to the people who use what we build, to our colleagues, to ourselves and to our values,” said Sandberg.
Quartz reporter Leah Fessler writes that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement address at MIT featured a call for graduates to help create more inclusive technologies and workplaces. “It’s not the technology you build that will define you. It’s the teams you build and what people do with the technology you build,” Sandberg advised.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg advocated for MIT graduates to be, “clear-eyed optimists” while speaking at MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, reports Ethan Wolff-Mann for Yahoo! Finance. “It’s not enough to be technologists. We have to make sure that technology serves people,” she said.
AP reporter Collin Binkley writes that during her Commencement address at MIT, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg called for equality in the technology sector. "Build workplaces where everyone — everyone — is treated with respect," she said. "We need to stop harassment and hold both perpetrators and enablers accountable. And we need to make a personal commitment to stop racism and sexism."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit MIT this Friday “to headline the annual meeting of the school's Solve initiative,” reports the Associated Press. Trudeau’s appearance at Solve, which “connects tech entrepreneurs with leaders in government, business and academia to tackle world problems,” will mark his first visit to Cambridge since becoming prime minister.
Writing for The Atlantic, MIT lecturer Amy Carleton describes the focus on public policy, as well as engineering and product design, at this year’s “Make the Breast Pump Not Suck” hackathon. “What emerged [at the inaugural hackathon] was an awareness that the challenges surrounding breastfeeding were not just technical and equipment-based,” explains Carleton.
In an opinion piece for The Boston Globe, Alex Amouyel, executive director of MIT Solve, explains how the initiative is ‘crowdsolving’ thorny global problems through open innovation. “We need to source ideas from innovators all around the world to find the next breakthroughs,” argues Amouyel. “We know talent and ingenuity exist everywhere.”
Katie Kindelan of Good Morning America reports on the “Make the Breast Pump Not Suck” hackathon at the Media Lab, which examined physical, socioeconomic and cultural factors affecting new mothers. “We really thought, ‘How do we attack this problem from all angles, not just technology and design but also policy and access,’” explains researcher Alexis Hope.
The Boston Globe highlights some of the notable speakers who will deliver remarks at commencements across New England in the coming weeks, including Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, who will speak at MIT’s ceremony.