New particle detector passes the “standard candle” test
The sPHENIX detector is on track to reveal properties of primordial quark-gluon plasma.
Professor Emeritus Rainer Weiss, influential physicist who forged new paths to understanding the universe, dies at 92
The longtime MIT professor shared a Nobel Prize for his role in developing the LIGO observatory and detecting gravitational waves.
Astronomers detect the brightest fast radio burst of all time
The dazzling “RBFLOAT” radio burst, originating in a nearby galaxy, offers the clearest view yet of the environment around these mysterious flashes.
Materials Research Laboratory: Driving interdisciplinary materials research at MIT
The MRL helps bring together academia, government, and industry to accelerate innovation in sustainability, energy, and advanced materials.
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.
Planets without water could still produce certain liquids, a new study finds
Lab experiments show “ionic liquids” can form through common planetary processes and might be capable of supporting life even on waterless planets.
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.
Famous double-slit experiment holds up when stripped to its quantum essentials
MIT physicists confirm that, like Superman, light has two identities that are impossible to see at once.
Astronomers discover star-shredding black holes hiding in dusty galaxies
Unlike active galaxies that constantly pull in surrounding material, these black holes lie dormant, waking briefly to feast on a passing star.
Professor Emeritus Daniel Kleppner, highly influential atomic physicist, dies at 92
The “godfather of Bose-Einstein condensation” and MIT faculty member for 37 years led research into atomic, molecular, and optical physics that led to GPS and quantum computing.
QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2025-26
Ranking at the top for the 14th year in a row, the Institute also places first in 11 subject areas.
Closing in on superconducting semiconductors
Plasma Science and Fusion Center researchers created a superconducting circuit that could one day replace semiconductor components in quantum and high-performance computing systems.
New facility to accelerate materials solutions for fusion energy
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center to establish the Schmidt Laboratory for Materials in Nuclear Technologies.
Physicists observe a new form of magnetism for the first time
The magnetic state offers a new route to “spintronic” memory devices that would be faster and more efficient than their electronic counterparts.
Eight with MIT ties win 2025 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
The fellowships recognize doctoral students who have “the extraordinary creativity and principled leadership necessary to tackle problems others can’t solve.”