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Energy

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Professor Kristala Jones Prather leads a discussion at MITEI about the future of biofuels — and whether the prime window of time for their deployment has already passed or has not yet come. Prather argued for the latter. “I think it’s too early,” she told the undergraduates. “We just haven’t spent enough time on the problem yet.”

Kristala Prather: Advancing energy-efficient biochemistry

Associate professor of chemical engineering talks about the future of biochemistry and the next generation of scientists and engineers.

July 16, 2018

An MIT team performing fundamental studies of systems for cooling and dehumidifying indoor spaces includes (l-r): Professor Leslie Norford, graduate students Tianyi Chen and Omar Labban, and Professor John Lienhard. Chen and Labban began the work when they teamed up for an assignment in an advanced energy conversion class taught by Professor Ahmed Ghoniem (not pictured).

Cooling buildings worldwide

Analysis points the way to energy-efficient systems that take a location-specific approach to cooling and dehumidifying places where people live and work.

July 11, 2018

At left, different patterns of slices through a thin metal foil, are made by a focused ion beam. These patterns cause the metal to fold up into predetermined shapes, which can be used for such purposes as modifying a beam of light.

Kirigami-inspired technique manipulates light at the nanoscale

Folding and cutting thin metal films could enable microchip-based 3-D optical devices.

July 6, 2018

An MIT study estimates the impact of a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of world when the U.S. alone does not comply with the Paris Agreement. The aim of such a trade war would be to compel the U.S. to meet its Paris pledge.

What is the likely outcome of a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world?

Study highlights economic losses for participating countries.

June 26, 2018

Bruno Verdini discusses strategies for natural resources negotiation with MIT Energy Initiative Communications Director Emily Dahl at a MITEI seminar.

3Q: Winning together in negotiation

Bruno Verdini, executive director of the MIT-Harvard Mexico Negotiation Program, discusses his award-winning research on negotiating for mutual gains.

June 21, 2018

Bruno Verdini explored the keys to successful high-stakes negotiations by interviewing dozens of people who worked together to settle long-running disputes between the United States and Mexico over shared natural resources in the Colorado River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Natural resource negotiations for mutual gains

Through research on U.S. - Mexico hydrocarbon drilling rights negotiation, Bruno Verdini provides insights on how to resolve conflicts through proactive collaboration.

June 21, 2018

A new computer chip, smaller than a U.S. dime and shown here with a quarter for scale, helps miniature drones navigate in flight.

Chip upgrade helps miniature drones navigate

Low-power design will allow devices as small as a honeybee to determine their location while flying.

June 20, 2018

Clouds of pollution float into the sky from two smoke stacks

Checking China’s pollution, by satellite

Study finds reduction in sulfur emissions from power plants.

June 18, 2018

Several years ago, Daniel Cohn (left) and Leslie Bromberg took on the challenge of designing a low-emissions, fuel-efficient replacement for the polluting diesel engines traditionally viewed as the only viable option for powering heavy-duty trucks. Using sophisticated computer models developed by Bromberg, they’ve now produced a conceptual design for an engine that should be up to the task.

Getting the world off dirty diesels

Gasoline-alcohol engines for heavy-duty trucks could produce a meaningful improvement in global air quality.

June 13, 2018

Ernest Moniz

3Q: Ernest Moniz on the Vatican climate dialogue

Professor emeritus and former U.S. energy secretary reflects on recent meeting with Pope Francis and energy and finance leaders.

June 12, 2018

“The best thing about being at MIT is that people are working on all these cool, different things that they’re passionate about,” says graduate student Prosper Nyovanie. “I think there’s a lot of clarity that you can get just by going outside of your circle and talking to people.”

Reliable energy for all

Graduate student Prosper Nyovanie wants to power off-grid communities worldwide with scalable solar electric systems.

June 12, 2018

On the roof of the Central Utility Plant building, standing in front of one of the cooling towers, are (left to right): Seth Kinderman, Central Utility Plant engineering manager; Kripa Varanasi, associate professor of mechanical engineering; recent doctoral graduates Karim Khalil and Maher Damak; and Patrick Karalekas, plant engineer, Central Utilities Plant.

New system recovers fresh water from power plants

Technology captures water evaporating from cooling towers; prototype to be installed on MIT’s Central Utility Plant.

June 8, 2018

Translational Research Program to help MIT researchers achieve real-world impact

Tata Center for Technology and Design program "aims to close the gap between ideas and implementation," says program director Jason Prapas.

June 6, 2018

Researchers at MIT and Israel's Technion used a thin-film material composed of layers of gallium-arsenide and indium-gallium-arsenide, overlaid with a layer of graphene, as shown in this diagram, to produce strong interactions between light and particles that could someday enable highly tunable lasers or LEDs.

Researchers devise new way to make light interact with matter

Reducing the wavelength of light could allow it to be absorbed or emitted by a semiconductor, study suggests.

June 4, 2018

This cloaking grenade, used for hiding troop operations from view on the battlefield, is an example of nanoparticles that reflect a particular color of light based on their exact size and composition. New work by MIT researchers provides a way to predict the light-scattering properties of layered nanoparticles – or to design particles to match a desired type of light-scattering behavior.

AI-based method could speed development of specialized nanoparticles

Neural network could expedite complex physics simulations.

June 1, 2018