School of Engineering

One proposed application of the firebrick-based thermal storage system is depicted in this hypothetical configuration, where it is coupled to a nuclear power plant to provide easily dispatchable power.

Firebricks offer low-cost storage for carbon-free energy

Ancient technology could be used to level electricity prices for renewables.

September 6, 2017

“The concept of my startup is, ‘Let’s use hacker tools to defeat hackers,’” PhD student Gregory Falco says. “If you don’t know how to break it, you don’t know how to fix it.”

Gregory Falco: Protecting urban infrastructure against cyberterrorism

PhD student works at the intersection of urban planning and computer science.

September 5, 2017

“The goal was trying to understand the chemistry associated with organic particulate matter in a forested environment,” associate professor Jesse Kroll explains. “We took a lot of measurements using state-of-the-art instruments we had developed.” The team also took many photos while in Colorado. Pictured on the bottom right is Douglas Day, CU researcher and organizer of the field campaign....

Team gathers unprecedented data on atmosphere’s organic chemistry

Colorado forest study provides clearest-ever picture of gases released into the atmosphere and how they change.

September 4, 2017

David Autor (left), a professor economics, and Asu Ozdaglar, a professor of electrical engineering, discuss 6-14: Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science. The new major is designed to train students to become the unseen game-makers behind virtual markets.

Two sciences tie the knot

A new major combining computer science and economics will prepare students for designing the virtual marketplaces of the future.

September 4, 2017

“Our prediction is that we might be able to identify risk for preterm birth ahead of time, before labor sets in,” says Katharina Ribbeck, an associate professor of biological engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. “Diagnostic tools for this are missing.”

Study suggests simple way to predict preterm births

Test of cervical mucus may reveal pregnant women’s risk of going into labor too early.

September 4, 2017

$Research by MIT graduate student Ashley Kaiser (left) and postdoc Itai Stein shows that a small fraction of carbon nanotubes added to phenol-formaldehyde resin lowers the processing temperature needed to achieve the best combination of hardness and low density by 200 degrees Celsius.$

Glassy carbon, now with less heat

Carbon nanotubes lower the transformation temperature of glassy carbon, possibly aiding manufacturers, MIT researchers report.

September 1, 2017

Fikile Brushett and Florence Wagner named to Chemical and Engineering News “Talented 12”

MIT affiliates recognized for their innovative approaches to energy storage and drug discovery.

September 1, 2017

Graduate student Leigh Ann Kesler researches the effects of hot plasma on the interiors of fusion devices using a 2 megavolt electrostatic accelerator called DANTE in the Vault Laboratory for Nuclear Science at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Measuring depths, scaling heights

When not climbing mountains, nuclear science and engineering PhD candidate Leigh Ann Kesler tracks erosion inside fusion reactor containment chambers.

August 31, 2017