Pollution

This graphic shows NASA studies of high springtime ozone levels over Canada and the Arctic.

Simple, effective Earth-system modeling

A faster, cheaper modeling method could improve our understanding of long-term atmospheric chemistry and provide a powerful tool for risk assessment.

October 24, 2018

A new MIT study reports that in Europe 10 major auto manufacturers produced diesel cars, sold between 2000 and 2015, that generate up to 16 times more emissions on the road than in regulatory tests — a level that exceeds European limits but does not violate any EU laws.

Study: Emissions from most diesel cars in Europe greatly exceed laboratory testing levels

Real-world driving produces up to 16 times more emissions, causing 2,700 premature deaths across the EU, researchers estimate.

September 21, 2018

Results have just been published from a years-long project trying to quantify just how urban-based solar installations are affected by hazes, which tend to be concentrated in dense cities.

Air pollution can put a dent in solar power

Study finds lost revenue can be millions of dollars annually, suggests ways to quantify haze-related reductions in solar panel output.

August 28, 2018

Noelle Selin’s interdisciplinary research addresses both the science and policy of air pollution, climate change, and hazardous substances.

Noelle Selin named director of the MIT Technology and Policy Program

Selin will spearhead the master's program for students whose research addresses societal challenges at the intersection of technology and policy.

August 24, 2018

High school students (l-r) Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner, and Bria Snell, whose water purification system won them second place in a NASA technology competition, got a tour of the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel as part of their visit to MIT. The visit was sponsored by AeroAfro, an organization of MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics students.

NASA student competitors honored for persistence

MIT student group welcomes an all-black, all-female team who had been targeted by racist and misogynistic members of an infamous online forum.

August 14, 2018

Bergquist was attracted to MIT for her doctoral studies because it integrated the study of environmental problems with urban studies, but also placed a strong emphasis on political science.

Environmental regulation in a polarized culture

Doctoral student Parrish Bergquist investigates how politics affects environmental decision-making.

July 24, 2018

Techstars Impact, a new accelerator, has accepted three MIT-incubated ventures and their founders: (l-r) Nick Gomez and Cory Siskind (Base Operations); Genevieve Barnard Oni and Soga Oni (MDaaS Global); and Nisheeth Singh, Anirudh Sharma, and Nitesh Kadyan (Graviky Labs).

Three MIT-incubated ventures chosen for first Techstars Impact class

Base Operations, MDaaS Global, and Graviky Labs will head to Texas to be part of the first class at the new elite accelerator.

July 12, 2018

Siqi Zheng is an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning whose work examines the dynamic connections between what she calls urban “vibrancy” — economic and job growth, for instance — and urban “amenities,” such as transit, clean air, schools, housing, and restaurants.

The city is her lab

Siqi Zheng studies the economics of China’s urban explosion.

July 3, 2018

Repellency of different liquids on polyester fabric coated with H1F7Ma-co-DVB: soy sauce (black drop), coffee (brown drop), HCl acid (top left transparent drop), NaOH (bottom right transparent drop) and water (remaining transparent drops).

Let it rain! New coatings make natural fabrics waterproof

MIT-developed process could offer nontoxic alternative to environmentally harmful chemicals.

June 29, 2018

“People usually think MIT is exclusively focused on STEM research," says PhD student Elena Sobrino. "I saw this program, HASTS, as a way to be in conversation with physical or biological scientists, as a social scientist myself.”

Discovering hidden stories in the Flint water crisis

Graduate student Elena Sobrino looks beyond the headlines to study interactions between the city’s people and institutions.

June 24, 2018

The Center for Social Innovation in Toronto is making financial support available for winners of the contest, which is being held on MIT’s Climate CoLab platform.

Contest is crowdsourcing strategies to reduce pollution from small businesses

Toronto's Center for Social Innovation seeks solutions with a contest on MIT's Climate CoLab platform, providing up to $432,000 to fund pilot projects.

June 20, 2018

Roughly 60 percent of the global population lives in Asia, often with limited access to water.

Study: Climate action can limit Asia’s growing water shortages

Following the Paris accord could reduce risk of severe water-access problems, researchers find.

June 19, 2018

Clouds of pollution float into the sky from two smoke stacks

Checking China’s pollution, by satellite

Study finds reduction in sulfur emissions from power plants.

June 18, 2018

Several years ago, Daniel Cohn (left) and Leslie Bromberg took on the challenge of designing a low-emissions, fuel-efficient replacement for the polluting diesel engines traditionally viewed as the only viable option for powering heavy-duty trucks. Using sophisticated computer models developed by Bromberg, they’ve now produced a conceptual design for an engine that should be up to the task.

Getting the world off dirty diesels

Gasoline-alcohol engines for heavy-duty trucks could produce a meaningful improvement in global air quality.

June 13, 2018

Ravi Raju, a Picower Clinical Research Fellow, explains how gene expression differs as mice respond to circumstances modeling poverty.

Fighting toxic stress in children is tough but possible

Taking time to understand underlying causes of stress can help children escape debilitating health effects, symposium speakers argue.

May 31, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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