A. T. Oxford of the Economist reviews “Why Information Grows” by Prof. César Hidalgo, in which he argues that economic growth is tied to the growth of information. “In his research, Mr Hidalgo’s used nifty techniques in statistical physics and network theory to shine a light on the diversity of production across countries,” Oxford explains.
Kim Yi Dionne writes for The Washington Post about Professor Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga’s book ‘Transient Workspaces: Technologies of Everyday Innovation in Zimbabwe’: In it, Mavhunga “paints a vivid picture of hunting in Zimbabwe from the pre-colonial period to the present as he demonstrates how innovation is driven by ordinary people.”
Professor Yasheng Huang writes for The New York Times about the role of the government in the recent downturn in Chinese markets. “The current mess is entirely due to the active encouragement by the authorities to invest in the markets and to lax regulations," Huang writes.
Stephanie McFeeters writes for The Boston Globe about the social media campaign #ILookLikeAnEngineer, highlighting the MIT students, faculty and alumni who participated in the trend by posting their photos. The campaign stemmed from the negative response one female engineer received after appearing in an ad campaign for her IT company.
MIT lecturer Neal Hartman writes for Forbes about how to successfully negotiate your salary. Hartman writes that the key to “reaching a successful outcome is preparation.”
MIT lecturer Robert Pozen writes for the Financial Times about executive compensation. Pozen explains that he welcomes the “recent proposal from the SEC, the US financial regulator, that would mandate the reporting of pay actually received by corporate executives.”
Prof. John Ochsendorf speaks with Kara Miller of WGBH's Innovation Hub about what architects can learn from the design of ancient buildings. “In many climates around the world, architecture developed specifically to its climate,” says Ochsendorf. “Today...we can air condition our way out of any heat, so we build glass boxes in the desert.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Lauren Weber writes about Prof. Zeynep Ton’s “Good Jobs” index, which “scores employers on customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and productivity.” Ton explains that she hopes the index will “bring attention to some of the drivers of success that are rarely included in annual reports.”
In a Bloomberg News article about Market Basket CEO Arthur T. DeMoulas, Tom Moroney highlights how Prof. Thomas Kochan teaches last year’s Market Basket strike as a case study in his classes. Moroney writes that according to Kochan, Market Basket’s “coalition of salaried managers, hourly non-union workers, suppliers and customers is unprecedented in U.S. labor history.”
Justine Hofherr writes for Boston.com about Prof. Dava Newman, highlighting her new role as deputy administrator of NASA, her work planning for a manned mission to Mars and her goal to encourage more young girls to pursue careers in STEM. “I’m motivated every single day because my passion is exploration,” says Newman.
The Economist highlights Prof. César Hidalgo’s new book, which examines how economies grow. “His aim is nothing less than to lay out a universal theory of information—one that applies to everything, from the lifeless to the living, and to all scales, from atoms to economies.”
Prof. and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek provides readers of The Wall Street Journal with a glimpse into his everyday routines in this piece chronicling a week in his life. Wilczek writes that he spends most of one day “on my recent obsession: expanding perception.”
Boston Globe Magazine reporter Neil Swidey profiles Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy, chronicling his childhood in Fall River, his time at MIT, and his current role in the Iran nuclear deal. “He’s one of the best prepared energy secretaries we’ve ever had,” says Bill Richardson, a former US energy secretary.
AP reporter Josh Lederman highlights the role Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, played in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal. Lederman writes that by all accounts Moniz played a “pivotal role in reaching the historic nuclear accord.”
Felicia Gans writes for The Boston Globe that the images and information gathered by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has changed the way that Prof. Richard Binzel and other scientists think about Pluto. “We had expected to be surprised by what Pluto had to offer, but this is beyond anything we imagined,” says Binzel.