Documentary featuring Professor Sara Seager wins Emmy Award
“The Hunt for Planet B” follows Seager and others on their search for extraterrestrial life; three other nominated films feature MIT affiliates.
Astronomers find a “cataclysmic” pair of stars with the shortest orbit yet
The stars circle each other every 51 minutes, confirming a decades-old prediction.
Small eddies play a big role in feeding ocean microbes
Swirling waters replenish nutrients in open ocean, a new study finds, and could mitigate some climate change effects.
Peter Shor wins Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
MIT professor to share $3 million prize with three others; Daniel Spielman PhD ’95 wins Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.
Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
A “grazing encounter” may have smashed the moon to bits to form Saturn’s rings, a new study suggests.
MIT students contribute to success of historic fusion experiment
Students are part of large team that achieved fusion ignition for the first time in a laboratory.
Deepto Chakrabarty named head of the Department of Physics
High-energy astrophysicist to lead MIT School of Science physics community.
Scientists capture first-ever view of a hidden quantum phase in a 2D crystal
Single-shot spectroscopy techniques provide researchers with a new understanding of a mysterious light-driven process.
Donald “Bruce” Montgomery, influential electromagnet engineer, dies at 89
Longtime MIT researcher and former associate director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center contributed to fusion energy progress on campus and around the world.
MIT welcomes eight MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars for 2022-23
Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars will enhance and enrich the MIT community through engagement with students and faculty.
A new spin on nuclear magnetic moments
New results from researchers at MIT reveal an unexpected feature of atomic nuclei when a “magic” number of neutrons is reached.
Physicists harness quantum “time reversal” to measure vibrating atoms
A new technique could improve the precision of atomic clocks and of quantum sensors for detecting dark matter or gravitational waves.
Starfish embryos swim in formation like a “living crystal”
Their swirling, clustering behavior might someday inform the design of self-assembling robotic swarms.
Five with MIT ties win 2022 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
Award provides five years of funding and access to a community of innovative scholars and leaders in science and technology.
Physicists discover a “family” of robust, superconducting graphene structures
The findings could inform the design of practical superconducting devices.