Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E)

Jane Porter writes for Fortune about WiTricity, an MIT spinout focused on the development of wireless power-transfer technology. By using vibrational frequencies, electricity can be transferred over distances of up to four feet.

Colleen DeBaise writes for The Huffington Post about a week-long summer program hosted by the MIT Enterprise Forum that introduces high school girls to tech entrepreneurship. "I love promoting women entrepreneurs,” says Lori Hoberman, the chair of the Enterprise Forum’s New York chapter. “We don't have enough of them.”

In a piece published on Slate, Aaron Taube reports on MIT startup ULTRA Testing, which was created by MIT graduates, “with the specific intention of hiring people on the autism spectrum.” 

“I think this kind of technology could have a major effect and revolutionize various aspects of medicine, including birth control,” Professor Bob Langer says in an interview with Mallika Marshall of WBZ about technology from the biotech firm MicroCHIPS that could allow for implantable, remote-controlled, birth control.

“A new diode laser that can cut metal may soon find its way onto the market, thanks to a few former MIT scientists looking to commercialize their research,” writes Brooke Hays for UPI about Lincoln Laboratory spinout TeraDiode’s multi-kilowatt diode laser system.

Liat Clark reports on Jibo, the family friendly robot developed by Professor Cynthia Breazeal, in a piece for Wired. "Jibo is a very different concept of a personal robot where the focus is on human engagement and bringing content, apps, services 'to life' beyond flat screens," Breazeal explains. 

“The robot, which is a stack of three components allowing the display to swivel freely in any direction, is intended to be a family companion performing a variety of interactive tasks,” writes John Markoff for The New York Times about Jibo, a robot created by MIT Media Lab Professor, Cynthia Breazeal.

“Labor economist Paul Osterman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found in a recent study he conducted that manufacturers' spending on training has essentially been flat for the last five years,” writes Lauren Weber for The Wall Street Journal.

Martin LaMonica writes for The Guardian about Grove Labs, a company founded by MIT graduates looking to develop a new way to help people grow fresh food at home. Grove Labs aims to, “help people grow food productively at home using sensor-controlled gardens and smart phone apps.”

Klint Finley reports for Wired on Inbox, a software creation designed by MIT alumni Christine Spang and Michael Grinich to make it easier for developers to create email-centric applications. The technology aims to overcome the challenge of working with email technology that is old and limited.

Boston Globe reporter Michael Farrell writes about Smart Scheduling Inc., an MIT startup formed during a health care hackathon at MIT in 2012. The company aims to use data science to predict which patients are the most and least likely to show up for an appointment. 

Ashley Esqueda and Tom Merritt discuss the FingerReader audio reading device developed by researchers at the MIT Media Lab on the CNET show “Tomorrow Daily”. The device could be used by people who are visually impaired or for translating foreign languages. 

Liat Clark reports for Wired on Changing Environments, an MIT Media Lab spinoff that is developing solar-powered smart benches to be placed around Cambridge and Boston. These benches allow users to charge their mobile devices and download environmental data.

“We may be just years away from the longest-lasting and most hassle-free contraceptive ever invented,” writes Eliana Dockterman for Time about new implantable contraception being developed by MIT startup MicroCHIPS.

“The concept was conceived two years ago when Bill Gates visited Robert Langer’s MIT lab,” writes Sarah Gray for Salon about a new implantable, contraceptive microchip. The chip can be controlled remotely and lasts for 16 years.