School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences

In an article for The Boston Globe, President Emerita Susan Hockfield and Prof. Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy, highlight alumnus George Shultz’s PhD ’49 visionary approach to tackling climate change and the development of new technologies. "George was masterful in bringing together people and ideas from disparate disciplines to find new kinds of solutions to daunting political, technological, and organizational problems," they write. "He created communities of shared concern, which he recognized was the way to get things done and to have lots of fun doing so, frequently reminding us, 'If you want to land together, you better take off together.'"

CNN reporter Jacque Smith highlights Prof. Amy Moran-Thomas’ work calling attention to how pulse oximeters can overestimate oxygen levels in darker-skinned patients.

Wall Street Journal reporter Dieter Holger spotlights the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium. Holger notes that in January “IBM joined a dozen other companies—including Apple Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Boeing Co. —as the inaugural members of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium to develop technologies to combat climate change.”

AP reporter Matthew Lee memorializes the life and work of George Shultz PhD ’49, “a titan of American academia, business and diplomacy who spent most of the 1980s trying to improve Cold War relations with the Soviet Union and forging a course for peace in the Middle East.”

George Shultz, an MIT alumnus and former professor of economics who served as a counsel and Cabinet member for two presidents, has died at age 100, reports Michael Abramowitz and David E. Hoffman for The Washington Post. “Mr. Shultz was a policy maven, conservative but curious, patient and determined. He ranged widely over domestic and foreign affairs,” they write.

Boston Globe reporter Mark Feenery writes that George Shultz PhD ’49, who held top positions under President Nixon and was secretary of state for President Regan, “was regarded as a model of managerial dependability: pragmatic, low key, unflappable.”

George Shultz PhD ’49, known for serving as President Regan’s secretary of state has died at 100, reports Malcolm Rutherford and Aime Williams for the Financial Times. Rutherford and Williams note that during Shultz’s tenure as secretary of state, “there were achievements in arms control, in reducing regional conflicts and in placing human rights on the US-Soviet agenda.”

George Schultz PhD ‘49, the former secretary of state under President Regan and an MIT alumnus, has died at 100, reports Michael R. Gordon for The Wall Street Journal. Gordon notes that Schultz’s “diplomacy helped seal the end of the Cold War,” adding that he “remained an active voice on national security, economic and environmental issues after leaving government.”

In an article for The Washington Post, graduate student Aidan Milliff and Saksham Khosla of Dalberg Advisors explore why farmers are protesting in India. Milliff and Khosla write that farmers are concerned that new laws aimed at deregulating agricultural markets in India could create a situation where “farmers would see less long-term stability, and could be at the mercy of big business.”

Mario Draghi PhD ’76 has been invited to form a new government by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, writes Colleen Barry and David McHugh for the AP. Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief, “is credited with helping to save the euro has now been tapped to lead Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy, out of the pandemic and the worst recession since World War II.”

Writing for STAT, Prof. Emeritus Jeffrey Harris explores how community health centers “can play a crucial role in reducing the burden of the Covid-19 epidemic in the difficult winter months to come. They can serve as critical safety valves at a time when acute care hospitals and emergency rooms are saturated with patients.”

TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that debunking misinformation is the most effective method of addressing false news on social media platforms. “The team speculated as to the cause of this, suggesting that it fits with other indications that people are more likely to incorporate feedback into a preexisting judgment rather than alter that judgment as it’s being formed,” writes Coldewey. 

Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Amy Finkelstein examines the difficulties posed by trying to reduce waste in health care spending. “If something becomes more expensive, people will buy less of it,” writes Finkelstein. “And the empirical evidence is overwhelming: When patients have to pay more, they use less medical care. The problem is they use less of all types of care.”

Writing for the New York Daily News, Prof. Sandy Alexandre underscores the importance of having a role for the humanities in the White House. “Ultimately, presidents who are vocal about believing in science — the power of facts — should also be vocal about their belief in and support of the humanities — the power of history, language, the imagination, critical thinking and hope,” writes Alexandre.

The Economist highlights research by Prof. Daron Acemoglu that finds “networks of influential individuals seem also to have contributed to Italy’s descent into fascism” after WWI.