Faculty

Boston Globe reporter Felicia Gans writes that a number of MIT researchers have been honored “by the Breakthrough Prize organization, which honors scientists worldwide for their pioneering research.”

Prof. Edward Boyden has been honored as one of the recipients of the Breakthrough Prize, reports Sarah McBride for Reuters. Boyden is being recognized for his work “developing and implementing optogenetics,” writes McBride, which could open “a new path to treatments for Parkinson’s, depression, Alzheimer’s and blindness.”

Writing for Scientific American, Simon Makin explores the many applications of optogenetics, a tool developed by Prof. Edward Boyden, for which he was recently honored with a Breakthrough Prize. Makin explains that, “researchers have devised ways of broadening optogenetics to enter into a dynamic dialogue with the signals moving about inside functioning brains.”

Tina Casey reports for Popular Science that several MIT researchers have been honored with Breakthrough Prizes. Casey writes that Prof. Edward Boyden was honored for his work creating optogenetics, Prof. Joseph Formaggio and his team were honored for their research on neutrinos, and Profs. Larry Guth and Liang Fu won New Horizons Prizes. 

In an article for The New Yorker, Michael Specter writes about Prof. Feng Zhang and his work with CRISPR. Specter writes that Zhang was first inspired to pursue a career in science when he attended Saturday morning molecular biology classes as a middle school student. Zhang recalls that the class, “really opened my imagination.” 

STAT reporter Sharon Begley profiles Prof. Feng Zhang. Begley writes that Zhang’s “discoveries could finally bring cures for some of the greatest causes of human suffering, from autism and schizophrenia to cancer and blindness.”

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Chris Mooney of The Washington Post about the formation of a rare tropical cyclone off the coast of Yemen. “While it is unusual for Arabian Sea TCs to affect Yemen, it is not unprecedented,” explains Emanuel.

Prof. Yossi Sheffi writes for The Wall Street Journal that businesses need to safeguard their supply chains against “black swan” events, rare situations that wreak havoc. Sheffi explains that the “changing nature of supply chains has made it more important to consider the potential impact of the black-swan event.”

Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with Arianna Huffington about her new book and how smartphones affect our ability to connect with one another. Turkle explains that her research shows “we are too busy connecting to have the conversations that count.”

In this BBC News segment, Prof. Robert Langer, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, discusses his work exploring how to get the human body to respond to vital drugs. Langer explains that his approach to medicine is to “come up with engineering solutions to different medical problems.”

Professor Kerry Emanuel speaks with Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein about how Hurricane Patricia strengthened so rapidly. "I was really astounded," says Emanuel. "It was over the juiciest part of the eastern Pacific."

Prof. Daron Acemoglu discusses the work of Angus Deaton, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics, with Washington Post reporter Ana Swanson. “I think his understanding of how the world worked at the micro level made him extremely suspicious of these get-rich-quick schemes that some people peddled at the development level,” says Acemoglu. 

Prof. Heidi Williams speaks with Callie Crossley as part of WGBH’s “Genius Next Door” series, which features local winners of the MacArthur “genius grant.” Williams explains that her work focuses on “whether we're getting the right kinds of medical technologies developed.” 

Prof. Tomasz Mrowka, head of the Department of Mathematics, speaks with U.S. News & World Report’s Delece Smith-Barrow about options for graduate students participating in MIT’s mathematics program. "We span the gamut of what happens in mathematics," says Mrowka. 

Prof. Thomas Levenson speaks with Boston Globe reporter Amy Sutherland ahead of the publication of his new book, “The Hunt for Vulcan” about the books he likes to read and what makes for good science writing. “Science writing should convey information, but in a literary form,” Levenson explains.