Boston Globe reporter Adam Vaccaro writes about MIT’s selection of Apple CEO Tim Cook to deliver the 2017 Commencement address. Vaccaro notes that, “Past MIT commencement speakers have included big names from the worlds of business, politics, and entertainment.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been selected to deliver MIT’s 2017 Commencement address, reports the Associated Press.
Xconomy reporter Jeff Engel writes about The Engine, a new venture MIT launched to provide “resources to startups whose technologies typically take lots of time and capital to develop—think biotech, robotics, advanced manufacturing, medical devices, and energy.”
BostInno reporter Olivia Vanni writes that MIT is launching a new venture to support startups working on scientific and technological innovations that require time and patient capital. Vanni writes that tech industry leaders see the new effort “as a prime opportunity to retain our local tech talent."
CNN reporter Matt McFarland writes that MIT is launching a new entity aimed at providing space, funding and support for startups focused on tackling the world’s biggest challenges. "This is putting a piece in the puzzle that is missing," explains Executive Vice President and Treasurer Israel Ruiz. "There's a deficiency in the ecosystem to support these startups."
President L. Rafael Reif writes for The Boston Globe about The Engine, a new venture built by MIT to support startups tackling the world’s pressing challenges. Reif writes that The Engine will provide a model of support that nurtures “high-impact ideas and speeds them into the world while helping our regional innovation ecosystem flourish.”
Zeninjor Enwemeka reports for WBUR that MIT is launching an effort aimed at helping startups bring scientific inventions from the lab to the marketplace. Enwemeka notes that in addition to providing space, funding and support for startups, The Engine “will tap into the region's innovation hubs and aims to create an innovation network across the area.”
MIT’s new enterprise, called The Engine, is aimed at supporting startups in research-heavy fields, writes Curt Woodward for The Boston Globe. “We see the opportunity for MIT to start this process and really make a huge difference in driving down the cost of innovation in hard technology and science,” notes Israel Ruiz, MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer.
David Harris reports for the Boston Business Journal on MIT’s new venture that will provide space, funding and support to startups focused on developing “‘tough’ technologies — big ideas that require time and long-term capital to commercialize — in a range of sectors including biotechnology, robotics, manufacturing, medical devices and energy.”
MIT, Boston Medical Center and Post Office Square Redevelopment Corp. are joining forces to purchase solar power from a new solar farm being constructed in North Carolina, writes Jessica Bartlett for the Boston Business Journal. Bartlett writes that the project is “the largest renewable-energy project ever to be constructed in the U.S. through an alliance of different buyers.”
BostInno reporter Olivia Vanni writes that MIT, Boston Medical Center and Post Office Square Redevelopment Corp. have formed an alliance to purchase energy from a new solar power installation. “The amount of yearly clean energy generated from the project is 146 gigawatt-hours, which could lead to a reduction of 119,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions,” writes Vanni.
To encourage safer driving in Boston, Mayor Martin Walsh has announced a competition that uses a smartphone app developed by MIT startup Cambridge Telematics to reward driver performance, reports Dante Ramos for The Boston Globe. The app gives motorists “star ratings if they stay off their phones; drive at reasonable speeds; and brake, accelerate, and turn carefully.”
Researchers from MIT and IBM are joining forces to develop systems that enable machines to recognize images and sounds as people do, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. James DiCarlo, head of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, notes that as researchers build systems that can interpret events, “we learn ways our own brains might be doing that.”
GE is joining MITEI as a sustaining member and will participate in several Low-Carbon Energy Centers, reports Curt Woodward for The Boston Globe. “It’s not enough for a university to develop a technology,” says Robert Armstrong, director of MITEI. “It’s critical to have a partner like GE who can help you get it to people.”
Prof. Jonathan How speaks with Boston Globe reporter Steve Annear about how researchers from MIT and Ford are collaborating on a new project aimed at better understanding vehicle mobility and demand in dense urban areas. The project will allow researchers to “investigate new planning and prediction algorithms in a complex, but controlled, environment,” explains How.