John Paradiso writes for BostInno about this year’s 2.007 robotics competition, which was based on the movie Back to the Future. "The game boards, where the students drive their robots, are a DeLorean with a backdrop of the clock tower. The robots drive all over the DeLoreans to give them fuel, and climb the clock tower,” says Prof. Amos Winter.
Prof. Alexander Rich, a noted biophysicist known for his work investigating the structure of DNA and RNA, died on April 27, writes Denise Gellene for The New York Times. “I can think of no one else who has made as many major contributions to all facets of modern molecular biology,” said University of Maryland Prof. Robert C. Gallo.
Boston Globe reporter Laura Collins-Hughes speaks with Professor Emerita Joan Jonas about her upcoming display at the Venice Biennale. “At the moment what attracts me, what I’m focusing on, is that the world is sort of in trouble in relation to the natural environment,” said Jonas about her motivation for her installation.
Eleanor Clift writes for The Daily Beast about the role U.S. Energy Secretary and MIT Professor Emeritus Ernie Moniz plays in President Obama’s cabinet. Describing his relationship with Congress, Moniz says, “Maintaining open communications channels and using them early and often helps.”
Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus has been named the recipient of the 2015 IEEE Medal of Honor “for her leadership and contributions across many fields of science and engineering,” reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. Dresselhaus is the first woman to receive the award, the IEEE’s highest honor.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Professor Dava Newman as the NASA deputy administrator, writes Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. “It’s an enormous honor to serve at NASA in times when our country is extending humanity’s reach into space while strengthening American leadership here on Earth,” says Newman.
Jordain Carney writes for The Hill that the Senate has approved Professor Dava Newman to be NASA’s next deputy administrator.
Mark Anderson profiles Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus, recipient of the 2015 IEEE Medal of Honor, for IEEE Spectrum, chronicling her journey from a childhood passion for music to her pioneering research on carbon. Anderson writes that Dresselhaus has “blazed a path for researchers eager to exploit the magic of carbon computing.”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Sara Seager imagines what space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life will be like in 2045. Seager writes that, “Data has been flooding in from the nation’s latest space telescope, one with a 30-meter-diameter mirror (the Hubble’s, for comparison, was 2.4 meters).”
Professor Sara Seager describes her favorite photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows newborn stars surrounded by raw planetary materials, in an article for The New York Times. “This image is my favorite because even more astonishing than the beauty is the implication,” writes Seager.
The MIT Visual Arts List has released details about Professor Emerita Joan Jonas’ upcoming video presentation at the Venice Biennale, writes Meredith Goldstein for The Boston Globe. Jonas “will present a new video performance, ‘They Come to Us Without a Word II,’ three times from July 20 to 22, with live musical accompaniment.”
Prof. Kerri Cahoy speaks with John Hopton of redOrbit about miniature satellites or CubeSats. Cahoy explains that CubeSats are becoming increasingly popular because “they can be tucked into rockets and taken into space pretty cheaply, and we’ve been miniaturizing our electronics and our mechanical devices for spacecrafts so we can actually do something with these mini satellites.”
Michael Blanding writes for Forbes about Professor Michael Cusumano’s new book “Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs. Cusumano and his co-author examine and draw lessons from the careers of the three tech pioneers.
Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Daron Acemoğlu argues that reform rollbacks in Turkey have caused the country to lose ground on economic progress. Acemoğlu explains that, “modest improvements in economic and political institutions can trigger rapid productivity growth.”
Seung-yoon Lee interviews Professor Noam Chomsky for The Huffington Post on his views on the current media landscape. “I think it's a good general principle that almost anything that increases the variety and range of available media is beneficial,” says Chomsky.