Ancient Amazonians intentionally created fertile “dark earth”
The rich soil holds thousands of tons of carbon, sequestered over centuries by indigenous practices, a new study suggests.
Technologies for water conservation and treatment move closer to commercialization
J-WAFS awards 2023 Solutions Grants to bring two water-related innovations to the market.
Advancing material innovation to address the polymer waste crisis
MIT researchers work to discover biodegradable polyesters, with support from the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, J-WAFS, and DIC Corp.
Six ways MIT is taking action on climate
A variety of recent events highlighted efforts by faculty, staff, and students to make a difference today.
J-WAFS announces 2023 seed grant recipients
Fifteen principal investigators from across MIT will conduct early work to solve issues ranging from water contamination to aquaculture monitoring and management.
Inaugural J-WAFS Grand Challenge aims to develop enhanced crop variants and move them from lab to land
Matt Shoulders will lead an interdisciplinary team to improve RuBisCO — the photosynthesis enzyme thought to be the holy grail for improving agricultural yield.
Detailed images from space offer clearer picture of drought effects on plants
J-WAFS researchers are using remote sensing observations to build high-resolution systems to monitor drought.
A breakthrough on “loss and damage,” but also disappointment, at UN climate conference
Delegates from MIT attended COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where international climate negotiations went down to the wire.
MIT PhD students shed light on important water and food research
J-WAFS Fellows discuss their inspiration for pursuing challenges in water and food systems.
Processing waste biomass to reduce airborne emissions
MIT spinoff Takachar converts agricultural waste into clean-burning fuel, and wins Earthshot Prize.
Promoting systemic change in the Middle East, the “MIT way”
In a recent MISTI course, students engaged on collaborative solutions to climate, health care, and economic development in the Middle East.
From security to systems: J-WAFS name change reflects its breadth and impact
Emphasizing the scope and interdisciplinary mission on which it was founded, J-WAFS has a new name: the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab.
![“If you have a problem, and you look into the problem in nature and see how animals or plants deal with these kinds of problems and extract those design principles, you can try to replicate [them] using engineering approaches,” saysZijay Tang, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/201809/MIT-Tang-01.jpg?itok=cCVJRVTZ)
Inspired by nature, reaching across disciplines
PhD student Zijay Tang is developing a living material that can sense and filter water contaminants.
J-WAFS awards grants for commercialization of food and water technologies
Solutions grants will aid commercialization of novel MIT technologies to test water safety and improve agricultural productivity.
Krithika Ramchander and Andrea Beck awarded J-WAFS fellowships for water solutions
Graduate students receive J-WAFS fellowships to support research focused on improving water access for rural as well as urban communities.