Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang has been named to the TIME 100 Climate list, which highlights the world’s most influential climate leaders in business. “When it comes to cleantech, if it won’t scale, it doesn’t matter,” Chiang says. “This is a team sport—companies large and small, and governments state and federal, need to work together to get these new technologies out there where they can have impact.”
MIT researchers have developed a supercapacitor comprised of concrete and charcoal, that can store electricity and discharge as needed, reports Aleks Phillips for Newsweek. Researchers hope the device can provide “a cheap and architectural way of saving renewable energy from going to waste,” writes Phillips.
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a new 3D printing process that “allows users to create more elastic materials along with rigid ones using slow-curing polymers,” reports Tony Ho Tran for the Daily Beast. The researchers used the system to create a, “3D printed hand complete with bones, ligaments, and tendons. The new process also utilizes a laser sensor array developed by researchers at MIT that allows the printer to actually ‘see’ what it’s creating as it creates it.”
MIT researchers have successfully figured out how to trap tiny electrons in a three-dimensional crystal prison, reports Jess Thomson for Newsweek. The researchers hope that “the flat band properties of the electrons in these crystals will help them to explore new quantum states in three-dimensional materials,” Thomson explains, “and therefore develop technology like superconductors, supercomputing quantum bits, and ultraefficient power lines.”
MIT researchers have developed a new programmable, shape-changing smart fiber called FibeRobo that can change its structure in response to hot or cold temperatures, reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. “FibeRobo is flexible and strong enough to use within traditional manufacturing methods like embroidery, weaving looms, and knitting machines,” writes Paul. “With an additional ability to combine with electrically conductive threads, a wearer could directly control their FibeRobo clothing or medical wearables like compression garments via wireless inputs from a controller or smartphone.”
President Biden has awarded Prof. Emeritus Subra Suresh ScD '81, the former dean of the MIT School of Engineering, the National Medal of Science for his “pioneering research across engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences,” reports Alexa Gagosz for The Boston Globe. Prof. James Fujimoto '79, SM '81, PhD '84, research affiliate Eric Swanson SM '84, and David Huang '85, SM '89, PhD '93 were awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, “the nation’s highest award for technical achievement.”
Nature reporter Neil Savage speaks with former members of Prof. Moungi Bawendi’s research group about their work with Bawendi on synthesizing quantum dots. Manoj Nirmal PhD '96 recalls how, “what I was really intrigued and fascinated by was, it was very different than anything else that was happening in the [chemistry] department.” Christopher Murray PhD '95 rejoiced in the Nobel Prize announcement, saying, “It’s extremely exciting to see that what [Moungi] built is recognized as part of the Nobel prize.”
Prof. Moungi Bawendi, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks with CBC Quirks & Quacks host Bob McDonald about his work in quantum dots and nanotechnology. “I really want to stress that the beginning of this field, we were interested in this because it was a brand new material, it was a size region that no one had investigated before,” says Bawendi. “This was before people talked about nanoscience and nanotechnology, we were just very curious how the properties evolved from the molecular properties… to the bulk properties.”
WBUR reporter Daniel Ackerman spotlights Sublime Systems, an MIT startup working to develop “construction-ready, emissions-free cement.” Ackerman explains that: “Sublime’s new approach uses electricity instead of heat. That means the process can be powered with renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. The method also prevents carbon dioxide from escaping the carbon-rich limestone during combustion.”
Prof. Moungi Bawendi shares his thoughts at an MIT press conference after being named a recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, reports the AFP. “None of us who started this field could have predicted 30 years later, it would be where we are today,” says Bawendi. “And you know it’s just amazing to me. If you have really great people working on a brand new field with brand new materials, innovation comes out in directions that you can’t predict.”
Prof. Moungi Bawendi has been named a recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work and contributions to the field of quantum dots and nanotechnology, reports Brianna Abbott for The Wall Street Journal. “To understand the physics, which was the motivation, we had to create the material,” says Bawendi. “I would never have thought that you could make them at such a large scale and that they would actually make a difference in the consumer area.”
Prof. Moungi Bawendi, one of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks with Lisa Mullins of WBUR’s All Things Considered. “It's a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance, and sometimes, you know, you'll work for a few years without seeing any results at all. And then the results come maybe just in a few weeks, and suddenly it happens,” says Bawendi of his advice to students on dealing with progress and failures in their research. “Believing in the end point and just, you know, when things don't work, learning how to solve problems and go maybe a little slightly different direction."
Prof. Mougni Bawendi is one of three scientists who has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with quantum dots, reports Sam Turken for GBH. “Bawendi said that when he first started working with quantum dots, he wasn’t thinking of the potential uses for them,” writes Turken. “He merely wanted to study them, but in order to do that, he had to create dots that were of high quality. Once he did that, their benefits became more clear.”
Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman and John R. Ellement spotlight Prof. Moungi Bawendi, one of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for his work in the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, “tiny particles used in an array of technologies.” Bawendi noted that he was “deeply honored and surprised and shocked” to receive a Nobel Prize. He added that MIT is, “just a different place in the world. And I’m so grateful that MIT supported me through my career all these years.”
In an article about how researchers are exploring why ancient Roman and Mayan buildings are still standing, AP reporter Maddie Burakoff highlights how researchers from MIT found that an ancient Roman technique for manufacturing concrete gave the material “self-healing” properties. “We don’t need to make things last quite as long as the Romans did to have an impact,” says Prof. Admir Masic. “If we add 50 or 100 years to concrete’s lifespan, “we will require less demolition, less maintenance and less material in the long run.”