Developing countries

From engineer to urban planner

Grad student Billy Ndengeyingoma helps improve affordable-housing design in Africa.

September 25, 2016

Solve at HUBweek offers local showcase, global springboard for solutions to society’s challenges

Innovators from many sectors to tackle issues involving the digital economy, education, and more.

September 16, 2016

MIT D-Lab has named Bob Nanes, a veteran of international development, to the newly created position of executive director.

D-Lab appoints Bob Nanes to new position of executive director

Nanes brings to D-Lab 30 years of experience on four continents in technology, innovation, supply chains, and microfinance.

August 18, 2016

Researchers at MIT have for the first time identified the structure of class I fumarate hydratase enzyme, which could be a target for drugs combatting diseases prevalent in the developing world.

Targeting neglected diseases

New enzyme-mapping advance could help drug development.

August 15, 2016

An aerial view shows flooded rice fields after Typhoon Haiyan hit Iloilo Province in central Philippines.

Assessing crop damage after extreme weather

New method to track the impact of typhoons and other natural disasters could enable more precise, timely delivery of food aid.

August 10, 2016

Zhang Gaoli (seated, right), vice premier of China, whose portfolio includes environmental issues, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the outset of a meeting about climate change and other topics at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Nov. 11, 2014.

Meeting climate goals through international carbon markets

Linking emissions trading systems in developed and developing countries could yield environmental, economic benefits.

July 29, 2016

Professor Dan Frey of the Department of Mechanical Engineering is the new faculty director of D-Lab.

Dan Frey named D-Lab faculty director

Professor of mechanical engineering brings a long association with D-Lab and a commitment to design for the developing world.

July 27, 2016

A woman and her son, who live in Chellur, India, walk home with the reverse-osmosis-treated water she bought at Chellur’s community desalination plant.

The quest for clean water

MIT researchers design a solar-powered desalination device for rural India.

July 18, 2016

MIT and Broad Institute postdoc Ilana Brito sampled not only the human microbiome in the remote villages in Fiji she studied, but also the reservoirs of microbes in the community.

Microbiome genes on the move

Largest metagenomic view of the developing world uncovers “mobile genes” that reveal how culture shapes the human microbiome.

July 14, 2016

“The idea is one simple technology can have this huge impact on someone's well-being. But today there are a lot of technologies out there such as solar lanterns or water filters, and there's no way to systematically evaluate what works and what doesn't work on the ground,” says Cauam Cardoso, a PhD student in international economic development at MIT.

Seeking simple solutions with huge impacts

PhD student Cauam Cardoso assesses technologies that aim to help the world’s poor.

July 8, 2016

MIT announces Solve program activities

Addressing the world’s most pressing issues, second year of program will focus on in-person gatherings, solution proposals.

July 7, 2016

Roadside dumps like this one in Muzaffarnagar, India are the result of insufficient collection and treatment services.

Making India's waste streams sustainable

MIT researchers are developing a decision-support tool to help cities in India sustainably manage the societal and environmental impacts of their waste.

June 24, 2016

As an undergraduate at MIT, Ned Burnell began thinking about the entire process of making products, and all of the decisions that lead to designing products in a particular way. This is what motivated him to pursue mechanical engineering.

Using engineering savvy to improve product designs

From windmills to software, graduate student Ned Burnell creates better tools.

June 8, 2016

Matt Damon's Commencement address

Actor and filmmaker tells graduates: "There’s more at stake today than in any story ever told."

June 3, 2016

Actor and filmmaker Matt Damon spoke with MIT News in MIT’s Building 3 before the 2016 Commencement ceremony.

Q&A: Matt Damon on making a difference in the world

It’s no act: MIT 2016 Commencement speaker reflects on the “fun” of his activism and philanthropy.