Writing for Times Higher Education, senior lecturer Anjali Sastry argues that entrepreneurship is a key component in finding solutions to complex global health problems. Sastry spotlights how MIT students are provided with hands-on opportunities to “learn analytics, systems thinking, effective business models and entrepreneurial processes. They aren’t just learning how to maximize profits, but ways to understand the market and craft systems.”
May Mobility, a company founded by MIT alumnus Edwin Olson, will begin offering a free shuttle service on autonomous electric minibuses in Rhode Island, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. Bray explains that the company “mapped the shuttle route with lasers, which are extremely accurate, and uses an onboard laser-based guidance system that constantly confirms the bus is on track.”
Boston Globe reporter Ann Trieger Kurland spotlights how MIT alumnus David Dussault has invented a device that can create an iced coffee in a minute or less. The quick process brightens and captures “the aromatics, nuances, and flavors of coffee at its peak; that is, when it’s just been brewed,” Trieger Kurland explains.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Edward Glaeser spotlights a new book from Profs. Johnathan Gruber and Simon Johnson titled, “Jump-Starting America.” Glaeser writes that Gruber and Johnson have “produced a superbly argued case for public and private investment in education and research.”
Fast Company reporter Jared Lindzon spotlights how Ultra Testing, a company founded by two MIT graduates that employs over 60 workers remotely across 20 states, 75% of whom are on the autism spectrum. “Not only was the company open to hiring neurodiverse employees, but it actively sought them out,” notes Lindzon.
In a column for The Boston Globe, Linda Rodriguez McRobbie spotlights MIT Solve, which connects innovators with leaders from business, the non-profit sector, education and government to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. “Solve was founded to amplify good ideas, and so far, it’s working,” writes Rodriguez McRobbie.
Writing for Bloomberg, Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson argue that federal investment in scientific research can help address income inequality. “America desperately needs more hubs of growth,” they write. “It’s a problem that the government can and should address, by identifying and investing in the technologies of the future – and ensuring that the American people as a whole share in the gains.”
In an article for Fast Company, Mark Wilson highlights Modulate, an MIT startup that has developed technology that allows users to transform their voices into someone else’s. MIT alumnus and Modulate co-founder Mike Pappas explains that the technology could allow video game players to change their online personas and “give them the freedom to step inside their character entirely.”
Forbes contributor Daniel D’Ambrosio writes about how MIT alumnus Renaldo Webb has founded a company called Pet Plate, which provides fresh meals for dogs. D’Ambrosio explains that, “Webb realized that pet owners wanted a fresh option. He could launch a business that would ‘make a meaningful difference in the lives of pets across the country.’”
In an article for The Boston Globe, Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson underscore how federal investment in scientific research could be used to help ease income inequality in America. “Scaled-up and deployed strategically across most states, we estimate that an investment of $100 billion per year in public research and development could help create 4 million good new jobs,” they write.
Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson speak with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle about their book, which argues that government investment in scientific research can help tackle income inequality. Gruber explains that inequality in America is place-based, noting that “we need a solution that is going to help the rest of the country, not just super-star cities, and we think place-based federal R&D can do that.”
Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson discuss their new book, which argues that investment in scientific research is key to jump-starting the American economy, on Boston Public Radio. “We invest in science, turn that science into jobs,” says Johnson, “and spread that around the country. The coastal superstar cities have become extremely expensive, but there’s a tremendous amount of talent spread across the U.S.”
Forbes contributor Joe McKendrick writes that MIT researchers have developed a new metric for analyzing the value of the digital goods and services people use. McKendrick writes that the research provides “an idea of what digital goods -- those free or paid-for subscription services available via the internet and mobile -- add to our economy.”
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Sabri Ben-Achour of Marketplace about his work quantifying the economic benefits of goods and services that GDP does not measure. “We haven’t been measuring the value of the environment or digital goods,” says Brynjolfsson. “That means policy makers, when they are trying to see where is value coming and how is the economy growing, they have been missing that understanding.”
In an article for Fast Company about recycling, Adele Peters highlights MIT startup Renewlogy, which turns mixed plastic products into low-carbon, cost-competitive fuel. “To shift the needle and get recycling rates over 10%, you really need to focus on these low-value plastics,” says Renewlogy CEO Priyanka Bakaya, an MIT alumna.