Switchable material could enable new memory chips
Small voltage can flip thin film between two crystal states — one metallic, one semiconducting.
Drones dodge obstacles
Motion-planning algorithms allow drones to do donuts, figure-eights in object-filled environments.
Local boy makes good
Michael Watts took two decades to make the 20-mile trip from suburban Hingham to tenure at MIT.
Missed opportunities
Health problems for children prevent families from moving to higher-income neighborhoods.
How neurons lose their connections
Scientists identify protein that allows brain cells to dampen their sensitivity.
Cutting down runway queues
Model that predicts time from gate departure to takeoff could cut airport congestion, fuel waste.
Synthetic antibody detects proteins
New nanosensors recognize fibrinogen; may detect insulin, other biomarkers as well.
Larissa Senatus learns about the world by doing
Mechanical engineering major hopes to bring hands-on learning opportunities home to Haiti.
Concentrating dawn-to-dusk solar energy
MOSAIC award spurs MIT research into concentrator solar cells that can run in shade and full sun with power control and wavelength separation.
A nanophotonic comeback for incandescent bulbs?
Researchers combine the warm look of traditional light bulbs with 21st-century energy efficiency.
Student-built instrument headed to asteroid and back
Created by MIT students, REXIS has been integrated onto NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
