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Professor Kristala Jones Prather leads a discussion at MITEI about the future of biofuels — and whether the prime window of time for their deployment has already passed or has not yet come. Prather argued for the latter. “I think it’s too early,” she told the undergraduates. “We just haven’t spent enough time on the problem yet.”

Kristala Prather: Advancing energy-efficient biochemistry

Associate professor of chemical engineering talks about the future of biochemistry and the next generation of scientists and engineers.

July 16, 2018

Xingang Zhao standing next to a mockup of a fuel assembly in a pressurized water reactor.

Making nuclear energy safer and more affordable

Galvanized by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disasters, PhD student Xingang Zhao envisions a future with safe, efficient nuclear power.

July 10, 2018

Etienne Demarly’s efforts in generating physically realistic computer simulations may soon enable current generation reactors to operate more efficiently.

Etienne Demarly: Mastering fluid flow and bubble boil

Through meticulous computations, nuclear science and engineering student Etienne Demarly simulates conditions inside a nuclear reactor.

July 9, 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

“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

Alexa Aguilar is co-president of MIT’s Graduate Women in Aerospace Engineering (GWAE) group. “It's important to me that women have this kind of support and encouragement because I wouldn’t be here without the support of women,” she says.

Networks in aerospace

Graduate student Alexa Aguilar helps tiny satellites communicate and builds connections in her academic community.

June 22, 2018

“Teaching is complementary with research,” says economics professor Alberto Abadie. “When you need to explain material that you believe you understand very well, that is when the real test is."

Method man

Alberto Abadie refines the tools of economics — and gets some interesting results along the way.

June 18, 2018

Carl Thompson is the Stavros Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and co-director of the Materials Research Laboratory at MIT.

Broadening the range of material rewards

Headed by Carl Thompson, the newly formed Materials Research Laboratory opens up opportunities for industrial partnerships.

June 18, 2018

Jamshied Sharifi, winner of the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for “The Band's Visit”

In profile: Jamshied Sharifi ’83, Tony Award winner

Composer, musician, and former MIT visiting artist received a 2018 Tony Award for best orchestrations on “The Band's Visit.”

June 15, 2018

Teaching robots how to move objects

PhD candidate and Amazon Robotics Challenge winner Maria Bauza helps to improve how robots interact with the world.

June 12, 2018

Ashok Ajoy PhD ’16, poses with a prototype hyperpolarizer device.

The quantum choreographer

Using diamond dust and laser light to control atomic spin, Ashok Ajoy PhD ’16 pursues alternatives to costly conventional imaging technologies.

June 11, 2018

An unexpected ambition borne from MIT experience

Annamarie Bair, a premed student turned computer science major, is drawn to the promise of artificial intelligence and health care.

June 6, 2018

“The Logs has been the utmost formative experience of my college education,” says MIT senior Shaun Datta, at center performing with his fellow MIT Logarhythms. “We try to leave the rest of our thoughts and distractions at the door, so we can be very focused, and to give us a reprieve from the other things we’re working on.”

Quantum physics student leaving MIT on a high note

Math and physics major Shaun Datta wraps up four years of pushing himself beyond his comfort zone by singing a cappella with the MIT Logarhythms.

June 5, 2018

Elissa Berwick, PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science

An academic journey through solidarity and separatism

Doctoral student Elissa Berwick listens closely to the calls for independence rising from regions around the world.

June 4, 2018

When PhD student Tiziana Smith isn’t at her computer refining or running her models, she can be found organizing activities and initiatives to help her fellow graduate students find mentors and become leaders themselves.

How many people can China feed?

Graduate student Tiziana Smith studies links between water availability and crop yields in the world’s most populous country.

May 30, 2018

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