Photonics advance could enable compact, high-performance lidar sensors
With a novel design, MIT researchers overcame a stubborn problem that has limited the effectiveness of chip-based systems for lidar.
Self-organizing “pencil beam” laser could help scientists design brain-targeted therapies
MIT researchers leveraged a surprise discovery to devise a faster and more precise biomedical imaging technique.
Sixteen new START.nano companies are developing hard-tech solutions with the support of MIT.nano
Startup accelerator program grows to over 30 companies, almost half of them with MIT pedigrees.
Discovering the joy of future-forward electrical engineering
One year in, MIT’s hands-on 6-5 (Electrical Engineering With Computing) degree program is already one of the most popular majors among first-year students.
New photonic device efficiently beams light into free space
Light-emitting structures that curl off the chip surface could enable advanced displays, high-speed optical communications, and larger-scale quantum computers.
Efficient cooling method could enable chip-based trapped-ion quantum computers
New technique could improve the scalability of trapped-ion quantum computers, an essential step toward making them practically useful.
Solar energy startup Active Surfaces wins inaugural PITCH.nano competition
Twelve START.nano companies competed for the grand prize of nanoBucks to be used at MIT.nano’s facilities.
Lidar helps gas industry find methane leaks and avoid costly losses
Lincoln Laboratory transitioned its optical-amplifier technology to Bridger Photonics for commercialization, enhancing US energy security and efficiency.
Professor John Joannopoulos, photonics pioneer and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies director, dies at 78
Over 50 years at MIT, the condensed-matter physicist led the development of photonic crystals, translating discoveries into wide-ranging applications in energy, medicine, and defense.
Ultrasmall optical devices rewrite the rules of light manipulation
Nanophotonic devices developed at MIT are compact, efficient, reprogrammable, adaptive, and able to dynamically respond to external inputs.
The high-tech wizardry of integrated photonics
PhD candidate Sabrina Corsetti builds photonic devices that manipulate light to enable previously unimaginable applications, like pocket-sized 3D printers.
Photonic processor could streamline 6G wireless signal processing
By performing deep learning at the speed of light, this chip could give edge devices new capabilities for real-time data analysis.
MIT engineers advance toward a fault-tolerant quantum computer
Researchers achieved a type of coupling between artificial atoms and photons that could enable readout and processing of quantum information in a few nanoseconds.
Workshop explores new advanced materials for a growing world
Speakers described challenges and potential solutions for producing materials to meet demands associated with data centers, infrastructure, and other technology.
A dive into the “almost magical” potential of photonic crystals
In MIT’s 2025 Killian Lecture, physicist John Joannopoulos recounts highlights from a career at the vanguard of photonics research and innovation.