Prof. Charles Stewart III speaks with Associated Press reporter Philip Marcelo about why voters are given provisional ballots. “They are a fail-safe method to ensure that everyone who is registered to vote gets to cast a ballot,” says Stewart.
Prof. M. Taylor Fravel speaks with Bloomberg News reporter Iain Marlow about the U.S. - China relationship. “I do not expect U.S. - China relations to improve,” said Fravel. “The only question is how much further they will deteriorate and if the relationship will shift from one of competition to one of hostile confrontation.”
Prof. Kieran Setiya’s new book, “Life is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way,” is a “lovely, empathetic book,” writes Boston Globe reporter Meredith Goldstein. In a discussion with Goldstein about self-help and philosophy, Setiya noted that in his view “the ideal form of engagement with philosophy is active rather than passive.”
QuEra Computing, a cloud-based quantum computer service co-founded by faculty from MIT and Harvard, has “teamed up with Amazon’s AWS cloud service to sell online access to the device,” reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. The device “can be used by universities and corporate researchers worldwide for a variety of advanced tasks, like simulating the behavior of subatomic particles or developing new chemical compounds,” writes Bray.
QuEra, co-founded by faculty from MIT and Harvard, is a quantum computing startup that uses “neutral atoms in a vacuum chamber and use lasers to cool and control them,” reports Jane Lanhee Lee for Reuters. The startup has announced its “computer is now accessible to the public through Amazon.com cloud’s quantum compute service Braket,” writes Lee.
Postdoctoral fellow Suhas Eswarappa Prameela speaks with Science Careers about how to develop and maintain successful relationships with advisors, mentors, and supervisors. “Faculty members are inundated with multiple administrative, teaching, and service activities, so being proactive, articulating your needs, and clearly communicating hurdles in the lab is key,” notes Prameela.
Landmark Bio, a cell and gene therapy manufacturing company co-founded by MIT and a number of other institutions, is focused on accelerating access to innovative therapies for patients, reports Rowan Walrath for Boston Business Journal. "Landmark's new facility includes laboratory space for research and early-stage drug development, as well as analytics tools,” writes Walrath.
MIT and a number of other local institutions have launched Landmark Bio, a cell and gene therapy manufacturing firm aimed at helping small startups develop experimental therapies that are reliable, consistent, and large enough to be used in clinical trials, reports Ryan Cross for The Boston Globe.
Prof. Alan Lightman is the host of an upcoming docuseries, Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science, which will premiere on PBS in January. “Lightman’s areas of inquiry are as vast as the universe and as tiny as the smallest particle of matter,” writes Matthew Carey for Deadline. He “brings to his explorations the rigor of a scientist and the artistic sensibility of a poet.”
Prof. Peter Shor has been named one of the winners of the 2023 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, reports Nature. “Shor’s most renowned contribution is the development of quantum algorithms for prime number factorization,” writes Nature.
Prof. Mary Anne Ocampo speaks with Madame Architect reporter Gail Kutac about what inspired her passion for architecture and urban planning, and her advice for new designers. “The impact I would like to have in this world is creating strong collaborations that promote inclusive and resilient design visions,” says Ocampo. “To me, there’s this combination of understanding design as a process, and design as a commitment that helps us to recognize the ways we value our environment and people.”
Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, speaks with Forbes reporter John Koetsier about the future of robotics. “I have been on a quest to have universal machines,” says Rus. “My idea is to create universal robot cells that could combine to form different types of machines, each with the same capability.”
Duke Provost Sally Kornbluth has been named the next president of MIT, reports Paul Basken for Times Higher Education. “MIT’s announcement credited Professor Kornbluth with prioritizing investments in faculty, especially from under-represented groups, and strengthening interdisciplinary research and education,” writes Basken.
The hosts of Bloomberg Radio’s Baystate Business discussed the announcement that Sally Kornbluth has been named the 18th president of MIT. "[Kornbluth] said that she was excited for those 'global challenges,' and that is something that has been really the mantle of MIT: solving the world’s problems with technology,” reports Janet Wu. “It sounded like she wanted to be part of that.”
Forbes contributor Michael T. Nietzel spotlights how Sally Kornbluth, the provost of Duke University, has been selected as the 18th President-elect of MIT. “A highly accomplished researcher, Kornbluth is currently the Jo Rae Wright University Professor of Biology at Duke where she has been a member of the faculty since 1994, first in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at the Duke University School of Medicine and then as a member of the Department of Biology in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences,” writes Nietzel.