Profile

Eugenie Brinkema, an associate professor of literature, is an expert on the formal properties of films: their use of light, color, sound, time, and other structural elements that convey sensations and ideas.

Fright makes right

Eugenie Brinkema studies the aesthetics and ethics of horror films.

March 28, 2018

“MIT just changed the ways in which I think about the world in a very revolutionary way,” says senior Mehmet Efe Akengin.

Former Math Olympiad medalist embraces social entrepreneurship

MIT senior Mehmet Efe Akengin aims to innovate for the greater good.

March 25, 2018

MIT grad student Elizabeth Bieler with her Dalmatian Hercules, who she plans to train as a therapy dog

Incorporating humanity into a systems mindset

Grad student and Air National Guard officer Elizabeth Bieler combines systems design and management studies with engineering and volunteer projects.

March 23, 2018

“To me, the most rewarding aspect of my profession is to work with these extremely talented and bright students,” Roman says.

Yuriy Roman: A chemical engineer pursuing renewable energy

MIT professor devises new ways to generate useful chemicals and fuels from renewable resources.

March 22, 2018

MIT senior Isabella Pecorari embarked on a path to medicine at a young age, beginning with a grade-school fascination with biology.

Lending mind, hand, and heart

Senior Isabella Pecorari is building supportive communities at MIT and beyond.

March 16, 2018

“It’s really essential for the nuclear sector, an industry that is struggling in the current economic climate, to incorporate lessons from other industries that successfully create, design, build, and distribute technology,” says Ka-Yen Yau.

From coolants to a carbon-constrained world

An early calling for clean energy propels undergraduate Ka-Yen Yau’s research on the next generation of nuclear technology.

March 15, 2018

Timothy Lu's early interest in computer programming was inspired by his father, who worked as an electrical engineer at IBM.

Timothy Lu seeks to combat disease by reprogramming biological systems

Synthetic biologist hopes to develop treatments for cancer and other diseases.

March 4, 2018

After graduating from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in management science, Chun aims to earn a master's degree in engineering science at Oxford University. After he returns to the United States, Chun plans to begin law school with a focus on intellectual property.

Bringing meaningful technologies to market

MIT senior and Rhodes Scholar Matthew Chun wants to promote innovation that enhances quality of life in developing countries.

March 1, 2018

Vector-boson scattering processes are characterized by two high-energetic jets in the forward regions of the detector. The Figure shows a significant excess of events in the distribution of the mass of the two tagging jets in yellow, labelled as EW WW.

MIT physicists observe electroweak production of same-sign W boson pairs

With the aid of the Compact Muon Solenid detector at the Large Hadron Collider, a Laboratory for Nuclear Science-led group seeks to further understand the building blocks of matter.

February 27, 2018

Exploring his depth of field

Photographer, poet, and PhD student in biological engineering Corban Swain pursues diverse interests with a keen eye.

February 21, 2018

“American Panda,” set on MIT campus, explores cultural stereotypes

New novel set by dentist-turned-writer Gloria Chao ’08 reveals the protagonist's struggles between Taiwanese and American cultural values.

February 19, 2018

Polina Anikeeva was born in Leningrad, USSR, but grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia – the same city, whose name reverted to its original form after the fall of the Soviet Union. While in school there, she encountered two inspiring scientists who helped propel her toward a career at MIT, where she now develops cutting-edge materials to help researchers probe the mysteries of the brain in unprecede...

Seeking materials that match the brain

Polina Anikeeva explores ways to make neural probes that are compatible with delicate biological tissues.

February 18, 2018

With one foot in a dual bachelor’s and master’s program in urban studies and the other in an array of educational and community outreach programs, Yazmin Guzman applies the same careful coordination she perfected as a Mexican folkloric dancer to her life at MIT.

Sealing the cracks in public education

MIT senior Yazmin Guzman wants to change the educational landscape to provide opportunities to all K-12 students.

February 14, 2018

Jennifer Rupp's current ceramics research applications range from battery-based storage for renewable energy, to energy-harvesting systems, to devices used to store data during computation.

Jennifer Rupp: Engineering practical ceramics

Assistant professor in EECS is developing materials with novel structures and useful applications, including renewable energy and information storage.

February 9, 2018

“The danger emerges when distrust undercuts the sources for truth in society,” says Justin Khoo, an assistant professor of philosophy. “You give up on the truth and retreat to subjectivism: ‘All I know is the content of my own mind.’ That’s paving the path to authoritarianism. The point of democracy is to think about issues yourself.”

Applying philosophy for a better democracy

In Justin Khoo’s new class, students explore how language affects censorship, dissent, truth, and propaganda.