Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston that Professor Robert Langer has been named the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his research on tissue engineering and drug delivery. “It’s a real thrill, a real honor,” says Langer. “I feel incredible lucky.”
Prof. Robert Langer has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, writes Financial Times reporter Clive Cookson. Lord Broers, chair of the QE Prize judges, explains that Langer was honored for his “immense contribution to healthcare and to numerous other fields.”
Atlantic reporter Cari Romm writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new method for predicting public overreaction to disease outbreaks. The researchers “plan to use the model to help policymakers better prepare for disease-induced hysteria,” Romm explains.
Matt Murphy writes for WBUR about Solve, an event MIT will host next fall as part of the HUBweek innovation festival. The event will focus on “research and problem-solving exercises” aimed at four areas: education, health care, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability and energy.
Yiqing Shao of Boston Magazine reports on HUBweek, a new innovation festival that will be co-hosted by MIT, The Boston Globe, Harvard and MGH. “By uniting so many of the region’s leading institutions, HUBweek itself embodies the open, collaborative spirit that has helped make Greater Boston and Cambridge a hotbed of innovation and new ideas,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
Boston Globe reporter Michael Levenson writes about HUBweek, an “innovation-themed festival” that aims to showcase Boston. As part of HUBweek, MIT will host “‘Solve’ to brainstorm solutions to problems in education, energy, the environment, manufacturing, and infrastructure.”
“If the festival helps experts in Greater Boston make new connections across disciplines and across institutions — and find common interests and opportunities for collaboration with people around the world — the region as a whole can only benefit,” writes The Boston Globe Editorial Board of HUBweek, which will be co-hosted by MIT.
MIT engineers are developing a paper test that can identify Ebola, writes BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman. Prof. Lee Gehrke’s goal is to develop a “cheap, disposable front-line detector for this disease that many people can get their hands on — and fast,” Subbaraman reports.
WBUR’s Deborah Becker and Lynn Jolicoeur report on the new MIT-MGH partnership aimed at developing better tools to treat disease. Prof. Arup Chakraborty hopes the collaboration will allow researchers to take risks. “Safe ideas are often not the transformative ones,” he says.
Nature highlights the top science news of the week, including the new interdisciplinary center at MIT aimed at examining the microbiome. “The center will initially focus on inflammatory bowel disease, but organizers hope to eventually broaden the scope to diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis and autism,” Nature reports.
The Washington Post’s Editorial Board writes about the importance of MIT’s survey examining sexual misconduct. “By undertaking such a detailed fact-finding mission — and publishing the results — MIT has signaled that it is serious about finding solutions, and it offered a model that other institutions would do well to emulate.”
The Tech calls on students to take strong action to combat sexual assault, following the results of a survey examining sexual misconduct at MIT. “To quote President Reif, sexual assault ‘has no place here’,” writes The Tech. “But if the entire effort is to have a chance at success, students cannot opt out of this conversation — and that’s on us.”
WBUR speaks with Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart about the actions MIT is taking following the release of a survey examining sexual misconduct at MIT. “We have a very long history of approaching problems in exactly this way. We measure by getting data and facts, and then we develop our action plan,” says Barnhart.
WGBH examines the survey released by MIT on Monday that polled students about their attitudes and experiences with sexual assault on campus. “The poll is the first of its kind for the MIT community, and it goes beyond the scope of similar studies at other colleges and universities,” Kirk Carapezza and Mallory Noe-Payne report.
Matt Rocheleau of The Boston Globe writes about the results of a climate survey on sexual assault released by MIT Monday. “With its comprehensive survey, MIT became the highest-profile college to put such a specific estimate on the prevalence of sexual violence on campus, amid heightened national attention on the issue,” writes Rocheleau.