Transforming fusion from a scientific curiosity into a powerful clean energy source
Driven to solve hard problems, Associate Professor Zachary Hartwig is advancing a new approach to commercial fusion energy.
Decarbonizing heavy industry with thermal batteries
MIT spinout Electrified Thermal Solutions has developed an electrically conductive firebrick that stores heat at high enough temperatures to power industrial processes.
Nanoscale transistors could enable more efficient electronics
Researchers are leveraging quantum mechanical properties to overcome the limits of silicon semiconductor technology.
Smart handling of neutrons is crucial to fusion power success
Assistant Professor Ethan Peterson is addressing some of the practical, overlooked issues that need to be worked out for viable fusion power plants.
MIT affiliates receive 2024-25 awards and honors from the American Physical Society
Two faculty, a graduate student, and 10 additional alumni receive top awards and prizes; four faculty, one senior researcher, and seven alumni named APS Fellows.
Study: Fusion energy could play a major role in the global response to climate change
Experts in energy systems modeling and fusion technology explore the future role of fusion at various costs and carbon constraints.
Applying risk and reliability analysis across industries
After an illustrious career at Idaho National Laboratory spanning three decades, Curtis Smith is now sharing his expertise in risk analysis and management with future generations of engineers at MIT.
3 Questions: Bridging anthropology and engineering for clean energy in Mongolia
Anthropologists Manduhai Buyandelger and Lauren Bonilla discuss the humanistic perspective they bring to a project that is yielding promising results.
Aligning economic and regulatory frameworks for today’s nuclear reactor technology
Today’s regulations for nuclear reactors are unprepared for how the field is evolving. PhD student Liam Hines wants to ensure that policy keeps up with the technology.
Study of disordered rock salts leads to battery breakthrough
A new family of integrated rock salt-polyanion cathodes opens door to low-cost, high-energy storage.
3 Questions: From the bench to the battlefield
Rising senior and Army ROTC cadet Alexander Edwards and Aneal Krishnan ’02 discuss a new UROP fellowship with the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
More durable metals for fusion power reactors
MIT researchers have found a way to make structural materials last longer under the harsh conditions inside a fusion reactor.
A new approach to fine-tuning quantum materials
An MIT-led group shows how to achieve precise control over the properties of Weyl semimetals and other exotic substances.
Or Hen: Getting to the core of the matter
To understand how everything from atoms to neutron stars behave, he says, requires “abstracting away the details to see main principles that drive everything.”
AI method radically speeds predictions of materials’ thermal properties
The approach could help engineers design more efficient energy-conversion systems and faster microelectronic devices, reducing waste heat.