Kendall Square

Boston Business Journal reporter Grant Welker spotlights Biogen's groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters in MIT’s Kendall Common development. "This area is the most perfect place to do it, because you have some of the highest levels of ingenuity, innovation and energy around the biotech industry, and not to mention partnerships with academic excellence," said Nicole Murphy, Biogen’s executive vice president for pharmaceutical operations and technology." It was absolutely critical to why we feel we want to be here."

Earlier this week, Biogen celebrated the groundbreaking for the company’s new headquarters in MIT’s Kendall Common development, reports Catherine Carlock for The Boston Globe. “When a company as influential as Biogen breaks ground on the new global headquarters, it is an unmistakable vote of confidence — confidence in Massachusetts, confidence in Cambridge, and confidence in Kendall Square, and confidence in the future," said MIT President Sally Kornbluth. “It is on us, on us in Massachusetts, to find new ways to make sure this amazing ecosystem can maintain its record of trailblazing science and transformative treatments and cures.”

Biogen will move its headquarters to a new facility at 75 Broadway in MIT’s Kendall Common development, reports Greg Ryan and Hannah Green for the Boston Business Journal. “The lease is one of the most significant life sciences real estate transactions in Greater Boston,” they write. 

Biogen will move its headquarters to MIT’s Kendall Common development in 2028, reports Catherine Carlock and Jonathan Saltzman for The Boston Globe. “Biogen has been a foundational presence in the Massachusetts life science ecosystem for close to half a century,” says Governor Maura Healey. “We are thrilled to see them begin a new era in our state.”

Georgina Campbell Flatter SM '11 has been named the chief executive of Greentown Labs, the “nation’s largest clean-tech incubator,” reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe. “This is a pretty critical time for energy and climate, and we all need to lean in,” says Flatter. 

The MIT Museum is hosting an “After Dark: Made in the ‘90s” event on December 12, reports Claudine Bellanger for The Boston Globe. The event “will feature retro games, a discussion of the decade’s space exploration pursuits with former astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman,” and more, writes Bellanger. 

Michael John Gorman, director of the MIT Museum, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Mark Feeney about how science museums can help facilitate the “pleasure of finding things out.” Gorman adds that museums “can give people that spark, that hunger to learn and to dive in deeper. If we are that meeting place for the amazing minds we have around MIT and Cambridge and the Boston area with the broader public, then we can ignite a lot of those sparks. The challenge is not that we have too few ideas. It’s that’s we have too many and how do we shepherd them.”

The MIT Museum is hosting “Game On!” – a free event aimed at providing gamers of all ages an opportunity to “face off against a robot in Connect 4, pick up skills from Doom-playing bacteria, see if a hacked oscilloscope can hit a 30-note streak on Guitar Hero,” and more, reports Emily Wyrwa for The Boston Globe. The event, which is part of the Cambridge Science Festival, will be held on September 26, 2024.

WHDH reporter Polikseni Manxhari spotlights the Kendall Square “Rollerama,” an outdoor roller-skating rink created by MIT. The rink “offers free skate rentals, free lessons, live music, vendors, concessions and more,” explains Manxhari. “It’s not just a roller skating rink,” says Kathryn Brown, director of real estate at MIT’s Investment Management Company. “There’s a lot of people that come into this space and enjoy just the music and being outdoors.” 

Rollerama, a pop-up roller skating rink at Kendall Common, has become a “corner of liveliness” this summer, providing the public with free fun and art in the form of a new mural by Massiel Grullon, reports Izzy Bryars for The Boston Globe. “We thought it could help people do something fun together, and start to give people a sense of what the Kendall Common build out will be like,” says Sarah Gallop, director of MIT’s Office of Government and Community Relations. 

Forbes reporter Katie Jennings spotlights Phillip (Terry) Ragon '72, and his philanthropic efforts focused on curing HIV. “Ragon’s approach has been to bring together scientists who don’t typically collaborate, including doctors, engineers, physicists, mathematicians and virologists,” writes Jennings.

WBZ NewsRadio’s Emma Friedman visits Rollerama, a free, outdoor pop-up roller skating rink that’s “all about bringing the community together and having fun in the space.” Now open for the summer in Cambridge's Kendall Square, Friedman reports that Rollerama at Kendall Common was put together by MIT's real estate group to bring the community to the newly-acquired space on the corner of Broadway and Third Street. “It’s been such a hit,” exclaims Sarah Gallop, director of government and community relations. "Over the last decade, MIT's been focused on bringing increased vibrancy to Kendall Square." 

The Engine Ventures' CEO and Managing partner Katie Rae talks to Forbes’ Alex Knapp about its recent round of fundraising for investments in startups focused on sustainability, health and infrastructure. Rae also sees opportunities in quantum computing and other new hardware, saying “power and climate and compute all go together.” 

Katie Rae, CEO and managing partner of the Engine Ventures, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman about The Engine Ventures’ third investment fund, which remains focused on “helping early-stage startups develop and commercialize ‘tough tech,’ which can include anything from fusion power generators to cement made without fossil fuels.” Rae notes: “You see this dynamism not just for climate, but for all things manufacturing, whether it’s biotech, whether it’s AI chips, it is about as an exciting moment as you could get for what we do.” 

Boston Globe reporter Janelle Nanos visits The Engine Accelerator to learn more about their focus on providing tough tech startups with lab spaces and equipment. “We created this sort of ecosystem with support resources,” says Knight of the inspiration for the Engine Accelerator. “Where we are today was born out of those early needs, interviewing all these scientists and technologists, that were willing to work in a shared faculty but had different needs than existed.”