Materials science and engineering

Faculty highlight: W. Craig Carter

Materials science professor develops algorithms to solve problems across disciplines, strengthens online teaching techniques, and contributes to scientific art.

June 1, 2015

Microscope images of lab-produced fibers confirm the results of the MIT researchers' simulations of spider silk. At top are optical microscope images, and, at bottom, are scanning electron microscope images. At left are fibers 8 micrometers across, and, at right, are thinner, 3 micrometer fibers.

Spinning a new version of silk

Simulations and experiments aim to improve on spiders in creating strong, resilient fibers.

May 28, 2015

As cells pass through the CellSqueeze device at high speed, narrowing microfluidic channels apply a squeeze that opens small, temporary holes in the cells' membranes. As a result, large molecules — antigens, in the case of this study — can enter before the membrane reseals.

Freshly squeezed vaccines

Microfluidic cell-squeezing device opens new possibilities for cell-based vaccines.

May 22, 2015

Researchers have shown that a DC voltage applied to layers of graphene and boron nitride can be used to control light emission from a nearby atom. In these figures, graphene is represented by a maroon-colored top layer; boron nitride is represented by yellow-green lattices below the graphene; and the atom is represented by a grey circle. An applied DC voltage can drastically modify the graphene la...

Taking control of light emission

Researchers find a way of tuning light waves by pairing two exotic 2-D materials.

May 20, 2015

Geoffrey Beach, Kripa Varanasi, Michael Watts, Anne White, Hamsa Balakrishnan, Constantinos Daskalakis, Jacquin Niles, Rohit Karnik, Wojciech Matusik, Colette Heald, Benoit Forget, Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Maria Yang

Newly tenured engineers

Thirteen tenure appointments are made in seven of eight academic departments in the School of Engineering.

May 19, 2015

Twelve Summer Scholars selected

Highly qualified group of undergraduates brings prior lab experience, variety of interests, to pursue research opportunities in MIT labs.

May 4, 2015

Participants in the 2015 Rising Stars in Nuclear Science and Engineering Symposium at MIT

Inspiring a new generation of women in nuclear science and engineering

2015 Rising Stars in Nuclear Science and Engineering Symposium highlights outstanding new work and celebrates women in the field.

April 30, 2015

Bombardier beetles eject a liquid called benzoquinone, which they superheat and expel in an intense, pulsating jet. The explosive mechanism used by the beetle generates a spray that's much hotter than that of other insects that use the liquid, and propels the jet five times faster.

How some beetles produce a scalding defensive spray

New analysis shows how bombardier beetles produce an explosive defensive chemical jet.

April 30, 2015

Bendable glass devices

MIT Assistant Professor Juejun Hu melds fundamental materials science and new device designs to enable flexible photonics and other applications.

April 24, 2015

MIT chemical engineers have designed an implantable device that can deliver many drugs at once, allowing researchers to determine which drugs are the most effective against a patient's tumor.

How to identify drugs that work best for each patient

Implantable device could allow doctors to test cancer drugs in patients before prescribing chemotherapy.

April 22, 2015

A new film of carbon nanotubes cures composites for airplane wings and fuselages, using only 1 percent of the energy required by traditional, oven-based manufacturing processes.

Taking aircraft manufacturing out of the oven

New technique uses carbon nanotube film to directly heat and cure composite materials.

April 14, 2015

The renovation of the glass lab, forge, and foundry in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was made possible by a fundraising campaign that has raised nearly $3 million to date.

The magic of glass and metal

DMSE reopens its renovated glass lab, forge, and foundry.

April 13, 2015

MIT Professor Yang Shao-Horn, center, speaks to Skoltech Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage (CEES) researchers from MIT and Moscow State University during a meeting at the MIT Materials Processing Center in February. Listening are MIT Professor Paula Hammond (left) and Skoltech CEES Director Keith Stevenson, who is based in Moscow.

Fostering U.S.-Russia energy innovation

Skoltech Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage brings together researchers from MIT and two Russian institutes to develop advanced batteries and fuel cells.

April 10, 2015

As a mix of cancer cells and white blood cells flows through the microfluidic channel, sound waves from the transducers located on both sides of the channel guide them into separate channels, allowing the rare cancer cells to be isolated.

Using sound waves to detect rare cancer cells

Acoustic device can rapidly isolate circulating tumor cells from patient blood samples.

April 6, 2015

New materials to protect the brain

MIT graduate student Bo Qing studies synthetic gels that could be used in better equipment to protect against traumatic injuries.

March 24, 2015

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