MIT Sloan School of Management

Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT’s chief innovation and strategy officer and dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Jon Chesto about the new MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance. “A great amount of innovation happens in academia. We have a longer view into the future,” says Chandrakasan. He adds that while companies like GE Vernova have “the ability to get products out quickly to scale up, to manufacture, we have the ability to think past the short-term. ... It’s super smart of them to surround themselves with this incredible talent in academia. That will allow us to make the kind of breakthroughs that will keep U.S. competitiveness at its peak.”

E&E News reporter Christa Marshall writes that the new MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance will “scale sustainable energy systems across the globe” and advance breakthrough low-carbon technologies.

Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Sloan Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen highlights the impact of U.S. tariffs on foreign investment in U.S. Treasury securities and U.S. corporate bonds. “Nevertheless, since target countries will want to respond to reciprocal tariffs, they may stop buying or even sell U.S. debt securities,” explains Pozen. “Either response would increase U.S. interest rates and decrease economic growth. International trade flows and international investing are two sides of the same street.” 

Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Catherine Wolfram and Columbia Prof. Glenn Hubbard make the case that to help end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. should “impose sanctions on any company or individual – in any country – involved in a Russian oil and gas sale.” They write: “Ideally, the policy would pressure Russia into negotiations, where its removal could be part of a deal. If not, the United States would still collect billions annually, which could help fund Mr. Trump’s proposed tax cuts.” 

Lee Selwyn PhD '69 speaks with WVCB reporter Ben Simmoneau about how gas companies in Massachusetts promised consumers discounts on their March and April bills, following soaring energy costs this winter. 

Sloan Lecturer Harvey Michaels speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scooty Nickerson about skyrocketing energy costs in Massachusetts. Michaels explains that one contributing factor is the vast but costly energy system that can supply heat during cold dips but is expensive to maintain. “It’s like having a fleet of planes flying around with very few passengers on them,” Michaels explains. “It’s going to be very expensive for the passengers that do fly” to make it worth it.

Prof. David Schmittlein, the longest serving dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management who was known for his role expanding Sloan’s international reach, has died at the age of 69, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Schmittlein “led initiatives introducing several new degree programs, redesigning the academic program portfolio while maintaining the MBA as the flagship degree, and diversifying executive offerings,” writes Marquard. 

Forbes reporter Tanya Arturi highlights research by Prof. Basima Tewfik on the impact of imposter syndrome. Tewfik’s “studies indicate that the behaviors exhibited by individuals experiencing imposter thoughts (such as increased effort in communication and interpersonal interactions) can actually enhance job performance,” explains Arturi. “Instead of resisting their feelings of self-doubt, professionals who lean into these emotions may develop stronger interpersonal skills, outperforming their non-imposter peers in collaboration and teamwork.” 

A new study by Prof. Jackson Lu and graduate student Lu Doris Zhang finds that assertiveness is key to moving up the career ladder, and that debate training could help improve an individual’s chances of moving into a leadership role, reports Julia Pugachevsky for Business Insider. “If someone knows when to voice their opinions in a diplomatic and fruitful way, they will get more attention,” says Lu. 

Prof. Eric So speaks with Financial Times reporter Seb Murray about the use of AI in business programs. “I’ve seen a mixture of surprise, enthusiasm, concern and trepidation,” explains So. “It’s quite difficult to design assignments that can be done without AI. I suspect much of our curriculum will be redesigned from the ground up.”

MIT has been named among the top-performing intuitions in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, reports The Economic Times. MIT ranks “first in 12 subjects, maintaining its stronghold in fields like engineering, technology, and computer science,” explains Economic Times. 

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere estimate that “while 36% of U.S. private sector jobs were technically ‘exposed’ to automation through computer vision… it would only make economic sense for firms to pursue automation for 8% of all private sector jobs—just a quarter of those jobs labelled ‘exposed,’” report François Candelon, David Zuluaga Martínez and Etienne Cavin for Fortune. 

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Pierre Azoulay and Prof. Jeffrey Flier of Harvard Medical School make the case that any reforms at the NIH “should be grounded in evidence rather than tradition, avoiding the influence of special interests or political considerations.” They add that this approach “is an acknowledgement of NIH’s accomplishments and a charge to adapt it to the new realities of 21st-century science. The overarching goal must be to secure and enhance the decades-long role of the United States at the forefront of biomedical research, an outcome that the public both wants and deserves.”

Writing for Forbes, Dr. Diane Hamilton spotlights how a course offered by Profs. Danielle Li and Thomas Malone “challenged common assumptions about AI’s role in the workplace, offering a more interesting and, at times, unexpected perspective.” Hamilton notes: MIT researchers reveal AI’s good and bad impact on jobs and skills, making it clear that AI is not just about automation. It is about augmentation. Companies that use AI to empower employees rather than replace them will be the ones that thrive in the years ahead.”

Bloomberg reporter Robb Mandelbaum spotlights how the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship has developed a new AI JetPack to help students accelerate the entrepreneurial process. “Our mission at the Trust Center is to advance the field of innovation-driven entrepreneurship everywhere,” Paul Cheek, executive director of the Martin Trust Center. “We can’t do it with intuition or by throwing stuff against the wall. We have to practice entrepreneurship in a rigorous, systematic way that increases the odds of success.”