Bloomberg reporter Peter Coy writes that a new study by Prof. David Autor finds cities are no longer “escalators of opportunity” for people in middle-paying jobs, in particular Black and Latino workers. Coy writes that Autor proposes, “one solution is to raise minimum wages in cities, which would raise the living standards of low-income workers.”
A study by Prof. David Autor finds that cities no longer guarantee middle-wage opportunities for Black and Latino workers, reports Andrew Van Dam for The Washington Post. "Changes in occupational structure, in cities, have been larger and arguably less favorable among Blacks and Hispanics than among whites," says Autor.
CNN reporter Allen Kim writes about how CSAIL researchers developed a new system that enables a robot to disinfect surfaces and neutralize aerosolized forms of the coronavirus. In the future, the researchers hope the robot could be used to enable autonomous UV disinfection “in other environments such as supermarkets, factories and restaurants.”
WHDH reporter Emily Pritchard spotlights how CSAIL researchers have developed a new robotic system that is being used to help disinfect the Greater Boston Food Bank during the coronavirus pandemic. “We believe that is one piece of the puzzle in figuring out how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” says research scientist Alyssa Pierson.
A new robotic system developed by CSAIL researchers uses UV-C light to kill viruses and bacteria on surfaces and aerosols, reports Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. “Via cameras and sensors, the robot can map an indoor space, then navigate designed waypoints within that mapped area and disinfect as it goes, keeping track of the areas it has to disinfect,” writes Etherington.
MIT researchers have developed a new robotic system that uses a UV-C light fixture to disinfect surfaces at the Greater Boston Food Bank’s warehouse staging area, reports Matt Reed for WCVB. Research scientist Alyssa Pierson explains that the ultraviolet light "breaks apart the kind of outer incasing or shell of these pathogens."
Gizmodo reporter Andrew Liszewski writes that CSAIL researchers have developed “a new spray-on ink that can infinitely change colors, designs, and patterns when blasted with different wavelengths of light.”
New tools developed by CSAIL researchers allow users to design a pattern that can be used to 3D print knitted garments, reports Elizabeth Segran for Fast Company. “We’re exciting about how this can be used by everyday, nonexpert knitters,” says graduate student Alexandre Kaspar. “This lets anybody become a designer.”
7 News spotlights how CSAIL researchers have developed two new software systems that are aimed at allowing anyone to customize and design their own knitted design patterns. “The researchers tested the software by having people with no knitting experience design gloves and hats,” explains 7 News reporter Keke Vencill.
Graduate student Alexandre Kaspar speaks with BBC Click about two new systems that ease the process of designing and making knitted clothing items. Kaspar explains that the systems allow users to “create building blocks of parts that are being knit.”
TechCrunch reporter Catherine Shu writes that CSAIL researchers have developed two new systems that enable users to design and customize their own knitted items, no knitting experience required. Shu explains that the researchers want “to make designing and making machine-knitted garments as accessible as 3D printing is now.”
John Yang reports for PBS NewsHour about technologies to harvest fog to secure the world’s water supply, including one system designed by Prof. Kripa Varanasi to collect water from power plant cooling towers. Varanasi and his team “discovered that zapping air rich in fog with a beam of electrically charged particles draws the droplets toward the mesh, dramatically increasing its ability to collect water,” says Yang.
Prof. David Autor speaks with The Economist podcast “Money Talks” about how computers changed the US labor market, the impact of the rise of China and his own experience as an economist. “You have to take your results and accept them and sort of try to understand them,” said Autor. “You can’t simply reject them because they’re not consistent with what your expectations were.”
MIT researchers have a developed a method to make liquid droplets bounce away faster on water-repellant surfaces. “Aside from reducing ice buildup on airplanes, or even the giant sweeping blades of a wind turbine, this research could also benefit waterproof garments, which are a big market for hydrophobic materials,” reports Andrew Liszewski of Gizmodo.
NESN’s Clubhouse visits Prof. Anette “Peko” Hosoi to explore how a baseball is manufactured. “The best way to understand how a baseball is manufactured is to actually see what’s inside,” Hosoi explains. After cutting the ball in half, Hosoi shows how the ball’s cork center is surrounded by rubber and wool, which is “what gives the baseball its springiness.”