School of Engineering

Edd Gent writes for LiveScience that MIT researchers “have devised a new fabrication process that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to print successive layers of polymers into 3D, Transformer-like structures that ‘remember’ their shapes.”

MIT researchers have developed a method to 3-D print heat-responsive materials that can remember their original form, reports Rachel Zimmerman for WBUR. Prof. Nicholas Fang explains that this development is "critical for drug delivery — you could deliver a smaller, more tailored dose depending on the temperature change."

Melissa Lott writes for Scientific American that MIT researchers have created a device that generates steam using sunlight and does not require mirrors or lenses to concentrate the sun’s heat. The device could provide an “inexpensive option for applications ranging from the large scale (e.g. desalination and wastewater treatment) to smaller applications (e.g. residential water heating).”

Colin Young and Andy Metzger of State House News write that MIT experts spoke about the need for government investment in long-term energy research during the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers. “A lot of what we really need to truly change our energy infrastructure is going to take a lot more than five years,” Prof. Kristala Prather noted.

Salon reporter Scott Eric Kaufman writes that MIT researchers are using light to print 3-D structures that are able to remember their original shapes, and could be used in solar panel tracking and drug delivery. Kaufman writes that the structures are capable “of springing back to their original forms.”

FOX News reporter Rob Verger writes that MIT scientists have created a new device that can boil water without electricity. The device can “heat water to 212 degrees under just the heat of the sun, and could be used for applications like sterilizing medical tools in settings without electricity.”

MIT postdoc Amit Kumar writes in Science about how being in an unfamiliar culture aided his research career and helped him take on new leadership roles. His personal essay explores an academic journey that spans from India to Belgium to the United States.

ABC News reporter Gillian Mohney writes that Prof. Lydia Bourouiba has captured footage of a person sneezing, showing how far sneeze droplets can travel. Bourouiba found that “large droplets tended to land within 1 to 2 meters (about 3 to 6 feet) and that small droplets could get as far as 6 to 8 meters away (19 to 26 feet).”

A new WiFi system developed by CSAIL researchers is three times faster than a normal wireless network, writes Thomas Tamblyn for The Huffington Post. The new system allows transmitters “to work together and make sure that they’re sending information that isn’t clashing to each device,” explains Tamblyn.

Prof. Lydia Bourouiba has published a new slow-motion video of a person sneezing as part of her research into how sneezes spread disease, reports Rae Ellen Bichell for NPR. Bichell explains that Bourouiba’s research is aimed at better understanding “how to prevent microbes from moving from a sick person or contaminated surface to somebody else.”

Researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Technology have created a new bubble-wrapped, sponge-like device that can turn water into steam using energy from the sun, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The researchers hope that the design “could one day be used as a component in small desalination or wastewater treatment plants.”

Jason Margolis of PRI’s The World chronicles how MIT alumnus Sorin Grama’s first attempt at a startup paved the way for him to found Promethean Power Systems, which produces milk chillers for regions of India with unreliable power. Margolis notes that this fall Grama will serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence at MIT with a focus on the developing world.

In an article for Forbes, Kevin Murnane writes that a new system developed by MIT researchers significantly improves WiFi performance. Murnane writes that the system “could be used at locations like concert halls and sports stadiums to eliminate the poor WiFi performance people often experience in these venues.”

Matt McFarland writes for CNN that CSAIL researchers have created a new system that can transfer wireless data 3.3 times faster than usual. McFarland explains that to increase the speed of data transfer, researchers “developed algorithms that process a router's signal so that multiple routers can send information on the same wireless spectrum without causing interference.”

MIT researchers have developed a database of annotated English words written by non-native English speakers, reports Kevin Hartnett for The Boston Globe. The database will provide “a platform for the study of learner English and also make it easier to develop technology like better search engines that supports non-native speakers.”