President Sally Kornbluth

MIT ranks No. 1 in Forbes’ list of America’s top colleges. “The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is known for its innovative discoveries in science, research and technology,” writes Forbes. “Just 7% of MIT’s students take out any federal loans, due in part to the university’s generous financial aid,” which allows students from families with income below $200,00 to attend tuition-free. “MIT also ranks at the top of Forbes’ alumni earnings ranking.”  

MassLive’s “Most Influential Innovators” list, which celebrates inventors from across the Commonwealth, spotlights numerous MIT community members including President Sally Kornbluth, Prof. Russ Tedrake; Noubar Afeyan PhD ‘87 (a member of the MIT Corporation), Visiting Scientist Brandon Sorbom PhD ‘17, Visiting Scholar Ariel Ekblaw SM '17, PhD ‘20, Tye Brady SM '99, Maxim Lobovsky SM ‘11, and Andy Ory. “Kornbluth has been working hard to defend the university, which has long been a major economic engine not just for Massachusetts, but for the country,” writes reporter Scott Kirsner. 

President Sally Kornbluth and Governor Maura Healey will kick off the festivities at MIT’s inaugural Future Fest, which aims to bring “together leaders across higher education, government and tech to explore the future of science, technology, art and design across MIT's campus for five days,” writes the Boston Business Journal’s Stephen MacLeod. 

MassLive’s Juliet Schulman-Hall covers a new report from the MIT Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning and Research Training about AI and education at MIT. “It’s rare that a successful institution has to take a fresh look at many aspects of its mission,” said President Sally Kornbluth in a letter to the community. “But I’m convinced that the opportunities and risks generative AI poses for our model of education and research now constitute such a watershed for MIT — and for all of higher education.” 

MIT’s Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training has released a report on AI and education and recommendations for the Institute moving forward, writes Forbes’ Ron Schmelzer. “President Sally Kornbluth describes the moment as a ‘watershed’ for MIT and higher education,” writes Schmelzer. “The recommendations include redesigned assessments, renewed attention to hands-on learning, explicit AI rules for courses and new communities of practice for faculty.”

In a message to campus, President Sally Kornbluth shared a new report by MIT’s Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use that found that “even as AI accelerates and expands discoveries,  it is also driving dramatic changes in campus culture, upending foundational experiences such as study groups, office hours and undergraduate research,” writes the Washington Post’s Susan Svrluga. “For the sake of our students, for the future of MIT and for the shape of our sector and our society,” says Kornbluth, “it’s imperative that we get this right.” 

President Sally Kornbluth joins Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, hosts of GBH’s Boston Public Radio, for a live conversation about the unique value of university research, the impacts of immigration policy on international students and the nation’s talent pipeline, and MIT’s commitment to ensuring the nation remains a leader in science and innovation. “You're not going to see an effect immediately. What's going to happen is five years, 10 years, 20 years down the line, you're going to see a pipeline that's not full anymore—a pipeline of talent, a pipeline of basic discoveries,” says Kornbluth.

Prof. Emery Brown speaks with Scientific American reporter Tara Haelle for Scientific American’s special “Young American Scientists” section, discussing the evolution of the field of neuroscience and why he is optimistic about the future of scientific research in the U.S. “I am optimistic because I see new and exciting findings being discovered every day,” says Brown. “With [MIT] President [Sally] Kornbluth’s support, [the university] has developed its Health and Life Sciences (HEALS) program to encourage MIT faculty to look more deeply into solving health care problems. The enthusiasm for HEALS has been contagious across the campus.” 

As part of a special Scientific American series devoted to the future of scientific research in the U.S., President Sally Kornbluth emphasizes the importance of curiosity-driven research, noting that discovery “is part of our American DNA and has yielded vast returns to the citizens of this country and the world.” Kornbluth notes: “What’s needed is a rededication to public investment in American science. Even if I were not the leader of a premier scientific institution, this is what I’d say. Investing in American science is not a gamble; if you look back in time, there is no question about the benefits.” 

Jay Fox of the Ohio News Network joins Ohio 10 WBNS to discuss his conversation with President Sally Kornbluth about how life-changing scientific innovations in university research labs have helped build our nation’s technological prowess and ensured our strength and stability, explaining how federal research cuts threaten future medical and technological advances. “What’s at risk are the kind of cures and technological advances that we’ll enjoy as we age, as our children get older and their children’s children get older. It’s really the future that is being mortgaged at this point,” said Kornbluth during her discussion with Fox. 

MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Arizona State University President Michael Crow joined forces for a spirited discussion moderated by Washington Post reporter Zachary Goldfarb on the importance of curiosity-driven research, examining how universities are preparing the next generation of scientists to lead in America’s rapidly changing technological landscape. “Many of the things we have in our everyday lives, whether they be medical advances, technological advances, a lot of these things came from 30, 40, 50 years of scientists just trying to figure out how things work,” said Kornbluth. 

Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman spotlights MIT startup Liquid AI, along with the various AI efforts underway at MIT as part of The Globe’s 2026 Tech Power Players special section. Pressman notes that: “President Sally Kornbluth is reinvigorating the school’s support of the local innovation ecosystem, unveiling new online classes dedicated to AI — with free entry-level classes for anyone — and encouraging more entrepreneurship on campus.” 

Honorees on The Boston Globe’s 2026 Tech Power Players list shared their reasons for having optimism about the future of the Greater Boston area’s tech and innovation scene. President Sally Kornbluth says opportunities abound in what she calls “AI + X” — integrating AI into fields such as manufacturing, life sciences, and energy. “Massachusetts can absolutely lead in this next wave,” says Kornbluth. 

The Boston Globe’s Tech Power Players list for 2026 features numerous MIT faculty, researchers and alumni. In response to a question about the most promising area in the Boston tech scene right now, President Sally Kornbluth shared: “There isn’t a more important technological field right now than quantum science and technology, and the Boston area has the greatest concentration of quantum talent anywhere in the world.” 

Reporting from MIT, GBH’s Kirk Carapezza highlights how MIT is launching a “major effort to advance quantum computing, with a state investment of $25 million to help build a new research facility in Cambridge.” Said President Sally Kornbluth: “Everything you can think of that uses classical computing now, think about quantum speeding it up, making it more efficient. We think about the AI revolution and the expenses of AI and data centers. This is going to be impacted by a whole new different way of computing.”