Salon reporter Joanna Rothkopf writes that a report prepared by MIT researchers finds that declining government investment in basic research is creating an innovation deficit. “The report warns that the lack of adequate funding for sciences in the U.S. is threatening 15 fields, including neurobiology, cybersecurity, infectious diseases and robotics,” Rothkopf writes.
A new MIT report examines the growing innovation deficit caused by declining government support for basic research, reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. Prof. Marc Kastner, who led the committee that prepared the report, explained that the decline in basic research funding, "really threatens America's future."
Craig Lemoult of WGBH News speaks with MIT researchers about a new report examining the impacts of declining government support for basic research. Prof. Marc Kastner notes that many of the “technologies that have made our lives better” stem from basic research advances.
Inside Higher Ed highlights a new report prepared by a committee of MIT researchers that examines the need for increased federal funding for basic research. The report “examines the lost opportunities for science and for U.S. competitiveness vs. other nations due to inadequate federal support for basic research.”
Curt Woodward writes for BetaBoston about how MIT graduate student Ben Letham developed a formula for measuring the misery and difficulty of a particular winter. Woodward explains that Letham’s formula, which gave more weight to snowfall concentrated in short periods of time, showed that “this winter’s snow was more relentless, and more miserable to live through, than any other.”
Lauren Beavin of Boston Magazine speaks with A.M. Turing Award recipient Michael Stonebraker about why Boston is such a great place for computer scientists. The Boston tech scene "is way above critical mass, and the quality of life here is very, very high,” Stonebraker explains.
In an article for Bloomberg Businessweek about batteries, Christopher Martin highlights how Prof. Donald Sadoway’s liquid metal battery will be deployed this year. The batteries, which are being commercialized by Sadoway’s startup Ambri, will power solar and wind farms and store surplus energy for a power company in Manhattan.
Nidhi Subbaraman writes for The Boston Globe about Grove Labs, an MIT startup aimed at enabling people to grow vegetables at home year-round. The founders fine-tuned their idea at MIT’s Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator for a “high-tech indoor garden.”
Mark Shanahan writes for The Boston Globe that the organizers of HUBweek, an innovation-themed festival designed to showcase Boston’s leadership in education, medicine, technology and the arts, gathered at a launch party last week. As part of HUBweek, MIT will host “Solve,” an event designed to bring together leaders in a variety of areas to tackle global challenges.
Jillian Eugenios writes for CNN Money about Evaptainers, a startup conceptualized in an MIT course that has developed a refrigerator that runs on water and sunlight. The refrigerator was created in an effort to improve the food production and storage process in developing countries by cutting down on spoilage.
BetaBoston reporter Sophie Chamas writes about MIT alumna Hala Fadel and her work founding the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan-Arab Region in an effort to nurture entrepreneurial growth in the Middle East. “I wanted to create a forum for people to meet and learn from others,” Fadel explains.
Graduate students Jean Yang and Frank Wang have partnered with Highland Capital to launch a new bootcamp aimed at helping researchers commercialize their cybersecurity research, reports Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. “A lot of university PhD students have all these great cybersecurity ideas that could solve a lot of real-life problems,” explains Wang.
Researchers from MIT and Northwestern have developed an online networking tool aimed at aiding people with anxiety and depression, reports Katie Collins for Wired. The tool, “allows people to build online support communities and practice therapeutic techniques among one another.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Dominic Basulto reports on how the synthetic biology work at MIT startup Ginkgo Bioworks has been inspired by computer programming. “Ginkgo is essentially programming organisms, getting them to behave the same way as one might a piece of computer code,” explains Basulto.
The ACM has awarded the A.M. Turing Award, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize in Computing,” to CSAIL researcher and adjunct professor Michael Stonebraker, reports Barb Darrow for Fortune. Stonebraker is “famous for arguing that database is not a one-size-fits-all category."