Taming the wild phonon
‘Particles’ of heat are everywhere, and usually a nuisance, but newly designed materials could help put them to good use.
Featured Video: President Obama at MIT
In October 2009, the president toured MIT research labs and delivered a major address about energy.
Wind resistance
MIT analysis suggests generating electricity from large-scale wind farms could influence climate — and not necessarily in the desired way.
Explained: Radiative forcing
When there’s more energy radiating down on the planet than there is radiating back out to space, something’s going to have to heat up
Action needed to save climate, create jobs
MIT Energy Conference speakers see need to boost clean-energy businesses through a price on carbon and incentives for manufacturing
Big power from tiny wires
New discovery shows carbon nanotubes can produce powerful waves that could be harnessed for new energy systems.
3 Questions: Hunt Allcott on behavioral economics and the energy crisis
Can understanding human irrationality help solve our energy problems? An MIT researcher explains
In Profile: Alex Slocum
Teaching and tinkering, and teaching how to tinker, are the driving forces for longtime MIT mechanical engineer
The power of nanofluids
Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering research spotlight focuses on the work of Jacopo Buongiorno
How to turn blueprints green
Open-source program developed at MIT allows architects and engineers to optimize a building’s energy systems early in the design process
A new way to build membranes for fuel cells
Layer-by-layer assembly system could lead to improved fuel cells, batteries and solar panels
Power from motion and vibrations
Forget about batteries. The ability to harness electricity from tiny vibrations could power a new generation of electronic devices.
Self-powered sensors
Harvesting electricity from small temperature differences could enable a new generation of electronic devices that don’t need batteries