Obama intends to nominate Suresh as next NSF director
The MIT engineering dean would lead the independent federal agency that supports science and engineering research.
Liquid-solid interactions, as never before seen
New technique improves researchers’ ability to measure a key property of material surfaces.
A manufacturing renaissance for America?
At an MIT forum, experts examine new ways to pursue a good old idea: making things.
Pushing droplets around
MIT researchers find a way to make drops on a surface move in just one direction, with possible applications ranging from biology to electronics
Self-assembling computer chips
Molecules that arrange themselves into predictable patterns on silicon chips could lead to microprocessors with much smaller circuit elements.
Zooming in on cells
New microscopy technique offers close-up, real-time view of how proteins kill bacteria
In the World: Nanotech on the farm
MIT chemical engineer Paula Hammond lends her nanotechnology expertise to farmers in Africa.
Listening in on single cells
A novel sensor array is the first to detect single molecules produced by living cells.
Iron-plated snail could inspire new armor
Analysis of unique deep-sea mollusk offers insights into design of armor for soldiers and vehicles.
New ‘nanoburrs’ could help fight heart disease
Targeted nanoparticles can home in on damaged vascular tissue and may be used to deliver drugs that help clear arteries
Straining forward
Nanowires made of ‘strained silicon’ — silicon whose atoms have been pried slightly apart — show how to keep increases in computer power coming.
Deshpande Center's latest funding cycle supports goal of 'idea to impact'
Since 2002, the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation has funded more than 80 projects with over $9 M in grants. The center supports a wide range of emerging technologies including biotechnology, biomedical devices, information technology, new materials, tiny tech, and energy innovations. Eighteen projects have spun out of the center as independent startups, having collectively raised over $150 million in outside financing from investors.
Fuel cells get a boost
Creating tiny steps to electrode surfaces can double the efficiency of the emissions-free electricity sources, MIT researchers find.
Harnessing nanopatterns
New findings show that tiny textures on a surface can produce big differences in how some materials, and even living cells, behave
Small springs could provide big power
Mechanical engineer Carol Livermore and colleagues find that carbon nanotubes, used as springs, have potential to compete with batteries for energy storage.