Writing for Ars Technica, Megan Geuss examines a new MIT study that finds, “government and private R&D spending contributed the most to cost-per-watt declines for solar panels since 1980. This spending spurred the low-level efficiency improvements that were important for the solar industry on a technical level.”
CBS Boston’s Liam Martin joined students from the MIT Rocket Team as they celebrated NASA successfully landing a probe on Mars. “Just thinking that this is one step closer to humanity being able to live on Mars, it’s really exciting,” says undergraduate Dayna Erdmann.
Financial Times reporter Ed Crooks highlights a new study by MIT researchers identifying the key factors leading to the declining cost of solar power. The study highlights “the critical role played by government policy to help grow markets around the world.”
Prof. Linda Griffith speaks with Hari Sreenivasan of PBS NewsHour about her work developing a new “body on a chip” that could allow researchers to test new drugs on organ tissue. Griffith explains that the device models how different organs and cells communicate in the human body, which is “really important for things like arthritis, Alzheimer's, where you've got multiple organs involved.”
The Economist highlights how MIT researchers have developed the first plane that is powered by an ion drive and has no moving parts. “The use of an ion drive means the MIT craft contains no moving propulsion parts in the form of propellers or jet engines,” The Economist explains. “It can fly silently and without direct emissions from burning fossil fuels.”
Reporting for WBUR’s CommonHealth, Carey Goldberg highlights new classroom kits developed by MIT researchers that allow kids to learn and experiment with the building blocks of DNA. "I just think it's really important that microbiology education is accessible for everyone," says graduate student Ally Huang, "and that everyone, regardless of their resources, has access to things like this."
CNN reporter Helen Regan highlights a new solid-state plane developed by MIT researchers that has no moving parts and does not require fossil fuels. “The flight is a milestone in ‘ionic wind’ technology,” explains Regan, “and could pave the way for quieter and environmentally cleaner aircraft in the future.”
A Nature editorial highlights the historic breakthrough achieved by MIT researchers who developed the first plane that is propelled by ionic wind and has no moving parts. Nature writes that the plane is a “remarkable machine,” adding that “anyone who watches the machine fly can surely see glimpses of a future with cleaner and quieter aircraft.”
Reuters reporter Will Dunham writes that a new plane without moving parts developed by MIT researchers is a “radical new approach toward flying.” The plane could one day lead to “ultra-efficient and nearly silent airplanes that have no moving control surfaces like rudders or elevators, no moving propulsion system like propellers or turbines, and no direct combustion emissions like you get with burning jet fuel,” explains Prof. Steven Barrett.
MIT researchers have built a new electric plane that has no moving parts and is propelled by “ionic wind,” reports Joel Achenbach for The Washington Post. Franck Plouraboué of Toulouse University, explains that the new plane creates “an opening for future progress, in a field which is now going to burst.”
In an article for The Conversation, Prof. Steven Barrett details how he was inspired by science fiction movies to create an airplane that makes no noise, has no moving parts and does not require fossil fuels to operate. Barrett explains that he hopes the new technology “could be used in larger aircraft to reduce noise and even allow an aircraft’s exterior skin to help produce thrust.”
Inspired by “Star Trek,” Prof. Steven Barrett has developed a new silent airplane that does not require fossil fuels to operate and is powered by ionic wind thrusters, reports Malcom Ritter for the AP. Ritter explains that the technology that powers the plane could eventually be used “in airplane-like drones that perform tasks like environmental monitoring and surveillance.”
Writing for Popular Science, Rob Verger highlights how MIT researchers have built and flown “a radically different type of plane that is thrust through the air using just electricity and the movement of ions, a type of silent drive without moving parts out of science fiction.”
Scientific American reporter Angus Chen writes about how Prof. Steven Barrett has created the first-ever airplane that is powered by ionic wind thrusters and has no moving parts. “[Barrett] has demonstrated something truly unique,” says Prof. Mitchell Walker of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Vox reporter David Roberts writes about a new study by MIT researchers examining what factors contributed to bringing down the cost of solar panels. Roberts writes that the researchers found “policies that create incentives for private investors to develop and deploy solar panels are responsible for well over half of the decline in solar PV costs.”