Electrical engineering and computer science (EECS)

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed “a new method of 3D printing that uses heat-responsive materials to print multi-color and multi-textured objects in one step,” reports Laura Griffiths for TCT Magazine. “The method has so far been tested using three heat-responsive filaments including a foaming polymer with particles that expand as they are heated, and wood and cork fiber-filled filaments,” explains Griffiths.  

Researchers at MIT have developed GenSQL, a new generative AI system that can be used “to ease answering data science questions,” reports Allison Proffitt for Bio-It World. “Look how much better data science could be if it was easier to use,” says Research Scientist Mathieu Huot. “It’s not perfect yet, but we believe it’s quite an improvement over other options.” 

Profs. Canan Dagdeviren and Hugh Herr speak with CNN discuss their work aimed at empowering patients and doctors. Inspired by her aunt’s experience with breast cancer, Dagdeviren and her students are developing new wearable devices that could help detect cancer at an earlier stage. Says Herr of his work developing prosthetics that can be controlled by the human nervous system: “There will be a point where technology is so sophisticated that we can actually rebuild limbs after amputation that will be as good and, ultimately, they will be better than intact biological limbs.” Herr adds that in the future he hopes “the conversation will not be about human limitation anymore. It will be about human ability and human expression.”

Researchers at MIT have found large language models “often struggle to handle more complex problems that require true understanding,” reports Kirimgeray Kirimli for Forbes. “This underscores the need for future versions of LLMs to go beyond just these basic, shared capabilities,” writes Kirimli. 

Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, and Nico Enriquez, a graduate student at Stanford, make the case that the United States should not only be building more efficient AI software and better computer chips, but also creating “interstate-type corridors to transmit sufficient, reliable power to our data centers.” They emphasize: “The United States has the talent, investor base, corporations and research institutions to write the most advanced AI models. But without a powerful data highway system, our great technology advances will be confined to back roads.”

CNN visits the lab of Prof. Canan Dagdeviren to learn more about her work developing wearable ultrasound devices that could help screen for early-stage breast cancer, monitor kidney health, and detect other cancers deep within the body. “Wearable technology will grow rapidly in the near future,” says Dagdeviren. “But in the far future, they will be one of the most powerful tools that we will be seeing in our daily life.” 

In an article for Forbes, Robert Clark spotlights how MIT researchers developed a new model to predict irrational behaviors in humans and AI agents in suboptimal conditions. “The goal of the study was to better understand human behavior to improve collaboration with AI,” Clark writes. 

TechCrunch reporter Kyle Wiggers spotlights Codeium, a generative AI coding company founded by MIT alums Varun Mohan SM '17 and Douglas Chen '17. Codeium’s platform is run by generative AI models trained on public code, providing suggestions in the context of an app’s entire codebase. “Many of the AI-driven solutions provide generic code snippets that require significant manual work to integrate and secure within existing codebases,” Mohan  explains. “That’s where our AI coding assistance comes in.” 

A team of MIT researchers discovered a hard limit for the “spooky” phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, reports Ben Brubaker for Quanta Magazine. The researchers found that quantum entanglement does not weaken as temperatures increase, but rather it vanishes above specific temperatures, a behavior dubbed the “sudden death” of entanglement. “It’s a very, very strong statement,” says Prof. Soonwon Choi of the findings “I was very impressed.”

David Rush '07 pursues numerous challenges to promote STEM in education, but his role as the “globe’s most prolific Guinness World Record setter” stems from early sibling rivalry, reports Ramon Antonio Vargas for The Guardian. The thrill and accomplishment of beating his older brother at swimming led to attempting record breaking, which Rush uses as a metaphor for life’s trials. “If you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself, pursue it with a passion, you can accomplish virtually anything,” he said.

David Rush '07 shares his quest to break as many Guinness World Records as possible, conquering everything from setting a record time for juggling blindfolded to catching 59 marshmallows in his mouth in less than one minute and balancing 101 toilet paper rolls on his head, reports Cathy Free for The Washington Post. Rush now holds more than 181 world records. “I love the challenge and the training — it helps get me out of bed in the morning,” Rush says. “It’s a great feeling of accomplishment every time I can add another record to the list.”

Edwin Olson '00, MEng '01, PhD '08 founded May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle company that uses human autonomous vehicle operators on its rides, reports Gus Alexiou for Forbes. “May Mobility is focused above all else on gradually building up the confidence of its riders and community stakeholders in the technology over the long-term,” explains Alexiou. “This may be especially true for certain more vulnerable sections of society such as the disability community where the need for more personalized and affordable forms of transportation is arguably greatest but so too is the requirement for robust safety and accessibility protocols.”

TechCrunch reporter Kyle Wiggers writes that MIT researchers have developed a new tool, called SigLLM, that uses large language models to flag problems in complex systems. In the future, SigLLM could be used to “help technicians flag potential problems in equipment like heavy machinery before they occur.” 

Elliot Schwartz ’89 PhD ’94 joins NPR’s Planet Money host Jeff Guo to discuss his work using data to help coaches and athletes make sense of the complicated judging systems used in many Olympic sports . “Seeing what happened to artistic swimming kind of makes you realize that the goal of these judging systems is not just about being objective. It's about motivating athletes to push the limits,” Guo says.