Materials science and engineering

Photos illustrate how the tiny droplets produced by a mesh barrier prevent plants from being pummeled by the larger droplets from either rainfall or the spraying of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. The smaller droplets in the image at right have little effect on the plant, while the droplets at left batter its leaves heavily.

New approach makes sprayed droplets hit and stick to their targets

Using a simple mesh screen may allow farmers to dramatically reduce the amount of pesticides they spray.

August 28, 2018

Could a dry spaghetti noodle ever be coerced to break into only two pieces?

MIT mathematicians solve age-old spaghetti mystery

It’s nearly impossible to break a dry spaghetti noodle into only two pieces. A new MIT study shows how and why it can be done.

August 13, 2018

For the first time, the researchers from MIT and AFFOA have produced fibers with embedded electronics that are so flexible they can be woven into soft fabrics and made into wearable clothing.

Introducing the latest in textiles: Soft hardware

Researchers incorporate optoelectronic diodes into fibers and weave them into washable fabrics.

August 8, 2018

Advanced Fiber workshop participants compare the differences between weft knit and warp knit for sweater construction at FIT in New York City. Pictured (clockwise from left) are Veronica Apsan, Melanie Wong, Jesse Doherty, Erika Anderson, Sebastian Pattinson, David Merchan, and Calvin Zhong.

Inventing future fabrics

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America workshop challenges pioneering MIT and FIT students to conceive new ideas.

July 31, 2018

An instrument called a rheometer can measure mechanical properties of materials. The blue-colored gel on the stage of the instrument is the material. The rheometer is used to measure the modulus of the material, to gain an understanding of its stiffness and degree of dynamics.

Light-controlled polymers can switch between sturdy and soft

New material reversibly changes its structure in response to different wavelengths of light.

July 18, 2018

School of Engineering second quarter 2018 awards

Faculty members recognized for excellence via a diverse array of honors, grants, and prizes over the last quarter.

July 17, 2018

Michele Bustamante, a postdoc in the MIT Materials Systems Laboratory, won a Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship for her research analyzing supply risks and cost dynamics for key metals in high technology.

Where economics and materials science meet

Postdoc Michele Bustamante wins Congressional Fellowship for her research analyzing supply risks and cost dynamics for key metals in high technology.

July 11, 2018

MIT engineers have designed nanoparticles that can be attached to T cells and release T-cell-stimulating molecules called cytokines (yellow spheres). These cytokines activate T cells (blue) to attack nearby tumor cells.

Nanoparticles give immune cells a boost

Drugs carried in cellular “backpacks” help T cells to destroy tumors.

July 9, 2018

At left, different patterns of slices through a thin metal foil, are made by a focused ion beam. These patterns cause the metal to fold up into predetermined shapes, which can be used for such purposes as modifying a beam of light.

Kirigami-inspired technique manipulates light at the nanoscale

Folding and cutting thin metal films could enable microchip-based 3-D optical devices.

July 6, 2018

Summer Scholar Abigail Nason (left) and graduate student Takian Fakhrul peer into a pulsed laser deposition chamber for creating thin films that combine magnetic properties and infrared light transparency to serve in waveguides and isolators for integrated photonic chips.

Summer projects in motion

Lab assignments for MIT Materials Research Laboratory undergraduate researchers and teachers cut across disciplines.

July 3, 2018

Repellency of different liquids on polyester fabric coated with H1F7Ma-co-DVB: soy sauce (black drop), coffee (brown drop), HCl acid (top left transparent drop), NaOH (bottom right transparent drop) and water (remaining transparent drops).

Let it rain! New coatings make natural fabrics waterproof

MIT-developed process could offer nontoxic alternative to environmentally harmful chemicals.

June 29, 2018

MiNDS probes developed at MIT cause minimal injury to brain tissue. This image shows minimal tissue scarring (green and red stains) and healthy neuron growth (purple) surrounding an implant.

Neural implants modulate microstructures in the brain with pinpoint accuracy

MIT researchers develop new tools to enable targeted delivery of drugs to deep brain structures through implanted microprobes.

June 28, 2018

Carl Thompson is the Stavros Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and co-director of the Materials Research Laboratory at MIT.

Broadening the range of material rewards

Headed by Carl Thompson, the newly formed Materials Research Laboratory opens up opportunities for industrial partnerships.

June 18, 2018

On the roof of the Central Utility Plant building, standing in front of one of the cooling towers, are (left to right): Seth Kinderman, Central Utility Plant engineering manager; Kripa Varanasi, associate professor of mechanical engineering; recent doctoral graduates Karim Khalil and Maher Damak; and Patrick Karalekas, plant engineer, Central Utilities Plant.

New system recovers fresh water from power plants

Technology captures water evaporating from cooling towers; prototype to be installed on MIT’s Central Utility Plant.

June 8, 2018

Michael J. Tarkanian, the lead instructor for 3.042, “The Materials Project Laboratory,” the capstone design course for undergraduate students in materials science and engineering, in the lab with MIT student Mindy Wu.

The heart of the materials

From cobalt-free, high-entropy alloys to synthetic goose down, the Materials Project Laboratory offers students a chance to explore.