In this video, Prof. Leia Stirling and graduate student Alison Gibson speak with Wired about the vibrating boots they developed to help astronauts avoid obstacles. “To be able to provide technologies that can assist the astronauts and actually make a group of people have more capability, that’s really exciting,” explains Stirling.
Before she even graduates from MIT, senior Tiera Guinn is working for NASA’s Space Launch System, writes Zahara Hill of The Huffington Post. Guinn, who designs and analyzes parts for the rocket that will transport people to Mars, advises young girls with similar aspirations to “look forward to your dream and you can’t let anybody get in the way of it.”
In an article for Salon about extreme weather, Paul Rosenberg highlights a new study by MIT researchers that shows climate change could cause California to “experience three more extreme precipitation events per year by 2100, although the number could be reduced by half that if aggressive policy measures are pursued.”
Writing for Forbes, Eric Mack highlights a study by MIT researchers that shows extreme precipitation events in California should become more frequent due to climate change. The researchers found that by 2100, California “should expect between one and three more extreme precipitation events…every single year.”
Atlantic reporter Robinson Meyer writes about an MIT study that shows greenhouse gases lingering in the atmosphere will cause sea levels to rise for years. “The ocean remembers, and that’s really the key message,” explains Prof. Susan Solomon. “The sea takes a very, very long time to cool down once you’ve heated it up.”
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that methane lingering in the Earth’s atmosphere could cause sea levels to rise for hundreds of years after emissions have been curbed, reports Chelsea Harvey for The Washington Post. “The study underlines the importance of curbing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible,” Harvey explains.
A study by MIT researchers provides evidence that California could see an increase in extreme precipitation events due to climate change, according to CBS San Francisco. “Using large scale future projections and factoring in policies to restrict global warming, researchers said the Bay Area could see more of those kinds of storms on a seasonal basis.”
UPI reporter Brooks Hays writes that MIT researchers have developed a new model that helps predict the frequency of extreme precipitation events. The researchers found that “a rise in global temperature of 4 degrees Celsius will yield an extra three extreme precipitation events per year in California by the end of the century.”
Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz spotlights the work of Margaret Hamilton, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom who led the development of software for the Apollo missions while at MIT. President Barack Obama noted that Hamilton, “symbolizes that generation of unsung women who helped send humankind into space.”
TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey writes that Margaret Hamilton, a computing pioneer who led the development of the Apollo program’s on-board flight software during her time at MIT, has been named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coldewey writes that Hamilton is an inspiring figure “for anyone looking to enter the fields of computer science and engineering.”
In a series of papers, the New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, reveals that there may be a slushy subsurface ocean on Pluto, reports Rebecca Boyle for The Atlantic. “The research suggests that many other distant worlds in the Kuiper Belt might also hold inner oceans of water, or other liquids,” Boyle explains.
Researchers involved with the NASA New Horizons mission have uncovered evidence that an ocean of ice water lies beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped basin, reports Irene Klotz for Reuters. Prof. Richard Binzel explains that the findings show that “nature is more creative than we are able to imagine, which is why we go and explore."
Boston Globe reporter Olivia Quintana writes that the NASA New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, has collected data that suggests there is a slushy ocean of ice water beneath Pluto’s surface. “I think the big picture is that this is telling us that Pluto is much more complicated, much more fascinating than we ever imagined,” explains Prof. Richard Binzel.
Scientists at MIT and Brown University have discovered the origin of the Orientale basin, the oldest crater on the Moon, according to EFE. The impact of an asteroid 3.8 billion years ago formed a crater that has since “collapsed under the rock fractures and its temperatures forming three concentric rings visible today.”
Women You Should Know celebrates the 80th birthday of computer scientist Margaret Hamilton with a video spotlighting her work at MIT developing code for NASA’s Apollo program. Hamilton’s “Apollo code ultimately saved the Apollo 11 astronauts from having to abort their historic moon landing.”