MIT researchers have developed a new model that illustrates the chemical mechanisms underlying lithium-ion batteries, reports Gayoung Lee for Gizmodo. The findings could “lead to faster, more efficient batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and more.”
Prof. Steve Leeb and graduate student Daniel Monagle speak with Tech Briefs reporter Edward Brown about their work “designing an energy management interface between an energy harvesting source and a sensor load that will give the best possible results.” Monagle notes that in the future they hope to make the system “smaller so that it can fit in tight places like inside a motor terminal box. But beyond that we want to take advantage of AI tools to design techniques for minimizing the energy used by the system.”
Prof. Xuanhe Zhao and his research group have been named one of the winners of the 2025 Gizmodo Science Fair for their work “creating an atmospheric water harvesting device that could improve access to potable water in the most remote, arid regions of the world,” reports Ellyn Lapointe for Gizmodo. “We are truly proud and excited about this work—and about the potential to help people most in need of safe drinking water,” Zhao said.
In a video for CNN, graduate student Alex Kachkine explains his work developing a method using AI to create a reversible polymer film that could be used to restore damaged oil paintings, making the process faster than manual restoration. Kachkine explains that he hopes his work helps “get more paintings out of storage and into public view as there are many paintings that are damaged that I would love to see and it’s a real shame that there aren’t the resources necessary to restore them.”
Graduate student Alex Kachkine speaks with New York Times reporter Ephrat Livni about his work creating a new AI technique for restoring paintings, and how his research on microchips helped inspire the development. Microchips “require very high degrees of precision,” Kachkine explains. “And it turns out a lot of the techniques we use to achieve that level of precision are applicable to art restoration.” Kachkine adds that he hopes conservators will be able to “leverage the benefits” of the techniques he gleaned from engineering to preserve “really valuable cultural heritage.”
Researchers at MIT have “developed an antenna that can adjust its frequency range by physically changing in its shape” reports Mrigakshi Dixit for Interesting Engineering. “Instead of standard, rigid metal, this antenna is made from metamaterials — special engineered materials whose properties are based on their geometric structure,” explains Dixit. “It could be suitable for applications like transferring energy to wearable devices, tracking motion for augmented reality, and enabling wireless communication.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his lab are developing “a transdermal patch that could provide women with long-term contraception,” reports The Boston Globe Editorial Board. “The lab is also developing probiotic medications to treat abnormalities in the vaginal microbiome, a condition associated with risks including painful infection and premature birth.”
Lila Snyder SM '96, PhD '98, CEO of Bose, speaks with Forbes reporter Don Yaeger about her academic and professional career. “The framework that I liked to use when I was earlier in my career was at least once a week to do something uncomfortable,” says Snyder. “Ask to meet someone, ask someone for feedback, raise your hand to do something. Do something that makes you feel a little bit anxious and a little bit uncomfortable.”
Interesting Engineering reporter Saoirse Kerrigan spotlights a number of MIT research projects from the past decade. MIT has “long been a hub of innovation and ingenuity across multiple industries and disciplines,” writes Kerrigan. “Every year, the school’s best and brightest debut projects that push the boundaries of science and technology. From vehicles and furniture to exciting new breakthroughs in electricity generation, the school’s projects have tackled an impressive variety of subjects.”
Researchers at MIT have created “a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it,” a development that could “significantly speed up the 3D-printing process,” reports Andrew Corselli for Tech Briefs. Graduate student Nicholas Diaco explains that this new method “allows us in a single 3D print, to create structures that either dissolve or don't dissolve away. That lets us automate the most difficult and most expensive step of 3D printing, which is removing support materials after the printing is done.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with WCVB about his research developing an ingestible robotic capsule capable of delivering an injection directly within the stomach. “Fifty percent of the population don’t take medication as prescribed. That’s incredible,” says Traverso. “So, if we can make a little dent, or hopefully a bigger dent, I think we can help a lot of folks out there.”
Prof. Xuanhe Zhao and his colleagues have developed an atmospheric water harvester to produce safe drinking water, reports Robert F. Service for Science. “The team sandwiched the hydrogel, which contains lithium-chloride salt, between two glass sheets,” explains Service. “At night, water vapor enters the gel and is trapped by the salts. During the day, sunlight heats the gel, evaporating the water. The vapor condenses on the glass panels, forming droplets that trickle down and are captured.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a new atmospheric water harvester that eventually could be used to supply safe drinking water worldwide, reports Sarah Bregel for Fast Company. The device is “about the size of a standard window” and made from “hydrogel, a material that absorbs water, and lithium salts that can store water molecules,” explains Bregel.
Graduate student Alex Kachkine has developed a new technique that “uses AI-generated polymer films to physically restore damaged paintings in hours,” reports Benj Edwards for Ars Technica. “Kachkine's method works by printing a transparent ‘mask’ containing thousands of precisely color-matched regions that conservators can apply directly to an original artwork,” explains Edwards. “Unlike traditional restoration, which permanently alters the painting, these masks can reportedly be removed whenever needed. So it's a reversible process that does not permanently change a painting.”
MIT researchers have developed a new “window-sized device that can convert vapor from air into safe drinking water using hydrogel,” reports Matthew Burgos for designboom. “With the invention, the MIT engineers want to make it easier for people to produce clean drinking water in places where there’s no river, lake, or well,” Burgos explains, “and where the only source accessible to them that can be converted into water is air.”