Writing for Times Higher Ed, Prof. Andres Sevtsuk explores how campus design can boost communication and exchange between researchers. “Low-rise, high-density buildings with interconnected walkways and shared public spaces are more likely to maximize encounters,” writes Sevtsuk. “In colder climates, having indoor walking paths between buildings can help ensure that encounters continue during colder parts of the year.”
The new MIT Museum, a “purpose-built exhibition and gathering space in the heart of Kendall Square,” writes Boston Globe reporter Malcom Gay, “seeks to demystify some of the school’s opaque inner workings, makes itself broadly approachable with expanded gallery space, forum areas, learning labs, and a maker hub where visitors can work on museum-led projects.” MIT Museum Director John Durant explains: “We want people to feel that this is their museum.”
The Engine has moved into a new building situated between Kendall and Central Square in Cambridge, reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe. “Katie Rae, chief executive and managing partner of The Engine, said having a physical place for startups to work was a crucial part of the original ‘tough tech’ concept,” writes Chesto.
The new MIT Museum opens to the public this weekend in its new location in Kendall Square, which is “quite significant because this is the heart of innovation,” notes GBH’s Jared Bowen. Museum visitors will not only get a sense of MIT’s long history of innovation, but also get a sense of the scientific process, with exhibits featuring “part of the machinery that was used to help sequence the human genome, [and] the star shade petal that allowed NASA to photograph exoplanets,” Bowen explains.
The new Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel at MIT, which is capable of reaching wind speeds of up to 230 miles per hour, provides a controlled environment to measure the aerodynamics of an object, reports Matt Shearer for WBZ. "Everybody turns into a little kid when they get into a wind tunnel," says Prof. Mark Drela.
A time capsule buried in 1957 by former MIT President James R. Killian and Prof. Harold Edgerton will be unveiled in 2957 a full millennium after its burial, writes Michele Debczak for Salon.
Former MIT research fellow Robert (Bob) Buderi speaks with Radio Boston host Tiziana Dearing about his new book, “Where The Futures Converge: Kendall Square and the Making of a Global Innovation Hub,” which explores the history of Kendall Square and its innovation ecosystem. “One of the big chapters is about an effort at MIT by former President Susan Hockfield and two professors Sangeeta Bhatia and Nancy Hopkins to increase the opportunity for women faculty… to get into the stream that creates companies,” explains Buderi.
In honor of Popular Science’s 150th year, reporter Bill Gourgey highlights Prof. Mark Drela and John Langford ’79, MA ’84, PhD ’87 for their work in crafting Perseus, a robotic data-gathering drone used to ply Earth’s polar vortex in July 1992.
WBUR host Robin Young speaks with Danielle Dreilinger, author of “The Secret History of Home Economics,” which spotlights alumna Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman to attend MIT and the institute’s first female instructor. “Ellen Swallow Richards was an amazing woman… and she was devoted to science in the public interest… and she turned her attention to helping everyday women in the home,” says Dreilinger.
MIT students gathered to take part in the annual Baker House Piano Drop, a 50-year tradition where a nonworking, donated, and irreparable piano is pushed off the roof of the Baker House on campus to mark the last day MIT students can drop classes for the spring semester, reports Heather Alterisio for Boston.com.
MIT students gathered to take part in the Baker House Piano Drop, during which students drop a donated, nonworking, and irreparable piano off the roof of Baker House to mark “Drop Day”, reports Sabrina Silva for WHDH. “This year’s piano drop was made all the more special for students now that they’re back face-to-face enjoying their life on campus once again,” reports Silva.
A new study by MIT researchers examines how different spaces such as cafeterias can help foster collaboration on academic campuses, reports Paul Basken for Times Higher Ed. “The method affirms expectations that colleagues working physically nearer to each other are more likely to find each other, and that the odds of connection are higher between locations with indoor pathways,” writes Basken.
Nature Physics senior editor Silvia Milana spotlights “Carbon Queen: The Remarkable Life of Nanoscience Pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus” a new book written by MIT News Deputy Editorial Director Maia Weinstock. “Carbon Queen does not only capture the journey into the personal and professional life of an outstanding figure in carbon science, it is a careful account of the evolution of societal attitudes towards women from the 1950s to today” writes Milana.
Boston Globe reporter Nina MacLaughlin spotlights how the MIT Press, MIT Press Bookstore and the MIT Libraries have launched a new reading series called authors@mit. The series will kick off with Maia Weinstock, deputy editorial director at MIT News, and her new book, “Carbon Queen: The Remarkable Life of Nanoscience Pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus.”
Ariana Remmel spotlights “Carbon Queen,” a new book written by MIT News Deputy Editorial Director Maia Weinstock, which highlights the career of Institute Professor Mildred S. Dresselhaus. “Weinstock navigates the complexities of theoretical physics and research bureaucracy deftly,” writes Remmel. “She describes of carbon – from diamond to graphite – and their properties with sleek diagrams and colourful analogies that unpack basic principles and broader implications.”