Graduate, postdoctoral

Graduate student Lauren Dykman speaks with Atlantic reporter Sabrina Imbler about her quest to investigate the life cycle of the deep-sea trematode, a type of parasitic worm.

Graduate student Carmelo Ignaccolo speaks with Forbes contributor Rebecca Ann Hughes about his decision to move back to his hometown in Sicily during the Covid-19 pandemic and his work helping a local organization map networks of remote working hubs, as part of an effort to help support the local economy. “It was a nice idea of combining work but also local support for communities which have been left behind, especially in southern Italy,” says Ignaccolo.

In an article for The Washington Post, graduate student Aidan Milliff and Saksham Khosla of Dalberg Advisors explore why farmers are protesting in India. Milliff and Khosla write that farmers are concerned that new laws aimed at deregulating agricultural markets in India could create a situation where “farmers would see less long-term stability, and could be at the mercy of big business.”

Mashable spotlights how two high school students, who were part of Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and MIT, have discovered four new exoplanets. “Both the students took guidance from mentor Tansu Daylan, a postdoc at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, and helped the students study and analyze data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).” 

Graduate student Carmelo Ignaccolo speaks with New York Times reporter Emma Bubola about how young professionals are returning to Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bubola spotlights Ignaccolo's efforts to help an organization map and identify small rural towns in Italy in which it would be possible to facilitate remote-working opportunities as a tool to revamp local economies.

Forbes contributor Rob Toews spotlights the work of Professor Daniela Rus, the deputy dean of research for the Schwarzman College of Computing and director of CSAIL; graduate student Joy Buolamwini; and former MIT postdoc Rana el Kaliouby for their work shaping the future of AI. “They also serve as role models for the next generation of AI leaders, reflecting what a more inclusive AI community can and should look like," writes Toews.

Quanta Magazine reporter Kevin Hartnett spotlights the work of graduate student Ashwin Sah, who has “produced a body of work that senior mathematicians say is nearly unprecedented for a college student.” Sah recalls how he was drawn to mathematics from a young age, noting that some of his “earliest memories are of my mom teaching me basic arithmetic.”

Graduate student Lilly Chin, winner of the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, reminisces with Tiziana Dearing of Radio Boston about "Jeopardy!" game show host Alex Trebek. “Alex really enjoyed being on the job, but also enjoyed sort of being an uncle to the contestants, as well as America at large,” recalls Chin. 

Verge reporter Kim Lyons writes that a new analysis co-authored by graduate student Dan Calacci finds that an algorithm for a shipping delivery platform has led to reduced payment for workers. The researchers found that “the workers who reported lower wages were making 11 percent less than they did under the previous pay structure.”

Graduate student John Urschel speaks with Jamison Hensley of ESPN about his efforts aimed at empowering and encouraging more Black students to pursue careers in STEM fields. “Now more than ever, it’s really important that we highlight some of the diverse areas of mathematics that don’t typically get seen every day,” says Urschel.

Graduate student Marsin Alshamary writes for The Washington Post about the return of the Baath Party archives to Iraq. “In Baghdad, Iraqi scholars may have greater access to these documents, and an opportunity to put this information to use in fortifying a shared sense of national unity at a time of authoritarian nostalgia and political turmoil,” writes Alshamary.

Writing for Fortune, graduate student Jenny Blessing and alumni McCoy Patiño, Tran Nguyen, and Julian Gomez explore how providing tracking options for mail-in ballots could help mitigate the risks of mailing delays. “Mail tracking capability increases accountability of the USPS and boosts public confidence in voting by mail,” they write.

In an article for The Conversation, graduate student Silvia Danielak delves into her new research exploring why disaster management models often need to be adjusted to better serve the needs of different communities. “Paying attention to the urban disaster managers’ understanding of place-based risk sheds light on the continuously compounding vulnerability and lack of sustainable disaster risk reduction in communities at risk,” Danielak writes.

Graduate student Kenyatta McLean speaks with Fast Company reporter Nate Berg about BlackSpace, a non-profit she co-founded that aims to bring communities of color into the urban planning decision-making process. “We know that heritage is such an important part of Black neighborhoods and is something that Black neighborhoods continue to produce and conserve themselves, so we did want to amplify that work,” says McLean. 

Michael Hecht of MIT’s Haystack Observatory speaks with Perry Russom of NECN about MOXIE, a new experimental device that will convert carbon dioxide in the Marian atmosphere into oxygen. Hecht explains that the inspiration for MOXIE lies in how it would be easier, “if we could make that oxygen on Mars and not have to bring this huge honking oxygen tank with us all the way from Earth.”