MIT researchers have developed a device that captures pollution emitted from a car’s tailpipe, and turns it into high-quality ink, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. “A typical ballpoint pen holds about 0.25 milliliters of ink – meaning that one vehicle can produce almost 3 pens worth of ink per minute,” explains Lott.
In a piece for WBUR about digital health startups, Rachel Zimmerman spotlights Cake, a company co-founded by MIT alumna Suelin Chen. Zimmerman explains that Cake is a web platform aimed at helping “make decisions about death feel easier.”
Guardian reporter Eliot Stein writes about Media Lab spinoff Graviky Labs, which has developed an exhaust filter that turns diesel exhaust into ink and paint. “If each of the 20,000 black cabs in London had our product,” says founder Anirudh Sarma, “we could clean 30 trillion litres of air a year.”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal about how business schools are increasingly developing programs to help entrepreneurs, Kelsey Gee highlights the MIT Sloan School of Management. For alumna Rena Pacheco-Theard, “becoming a real entrepreneur became a distinct reality for the first time at Sloan.”
A report released by MIT startup Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) shows that one in four drivers were using a smartphone just before an accident occurred, reports The Boston Globe’s Matt Rocheleau. Prof. Samuel Madden, founder and chief scientist at CMT, explains that the study shows “people are using their phones a lot, and that’s playing a role in the accidents.”
Boston Globe reporter Janelle Nanos writes about Ministry of Supply, an MIT startup, that is incorporating 3-D printing in the production of their clothes. “We’re not going to have a clearance rack of sizes and colors that didn’t sell, because we’re going to be able to produce exactly what consumers want,” says co-founder Gihan Amarasiriwardena.
Bruce Gellerman of WBUR spotlights Ambri, an MIT startup co-founded by Prof. Donald Sadoway and alumnus David Bradwell that creates liquid metal batteries. Ambri’s “molten metal technology is at the cutting edge of the emerging energy storage industry,” writes Gellerman.
WBUR reporter Asma Khalid reports on how The Engine could help the Boston-area innovation ecosystem. Katie Rae, president and CEO of The Engine, explains that The Engine will support startups focused on tough technologies, which “take longer than most venture capital firms want to take bets on."
Katie Rae, president and CEO of The Engine, speaks with Meghna Chakrabarti of Radio Boston about her new role and why The Engine is aimed at addressing the gap between science and commercialization. Rae explains that The Engine will be focused on “investing very early into the translational stage for science-oriented startups.”
The Copenhagen Wheel, created by Senseable City Lab researchers, transforms a regular bicycle into a semi-autonomous mode of transport, writes Bob Woods for CNBC. “We realized that unless you somehow change the bike, it's hard to imagine it as a solution for transportation, and that means increasing its capacity to go farther,” explains Assaf Biderman, the lab’s associate director.
Nima, a startup founded by alumni Shireen Yates and Scott Sundvor, has been named to CNBC’s list of 25 promising start-ups for its portable food allergy detector, reports Ashley McHugh-Chiappone. “I just wanted a quick, easy way to test a piece of the dish and see for myself if it was gluten-free," says Yates of her inspiration for the device.
NBC News reporter Kristi Eaton writes about Saathi, an MIT startup aimed at increasing access to sanitary pads for women in rural India. “Only 16 percent [of women] have access to sanitary pads in India,” explains Saathi co-founder Kristin Kagetsu, adding that access is important because it means women “can go to school and work more.”
Oscar Williams of The Huffington Post writes that MIT researchers have designed a coating that allows liquids to slid out of containers, which could cut down on food waste. “In packages there are about 40 billion packs with material stuck in packages so the technology has the potential to significantly reduce waste,” says MIT alumnus and LiquiGlide co-founder David Smith.
In this article and video, BBC reporter Pallab Ghosh examines how MIT researchers have developed a coating that makes it possible to squeeze every drop of ketchup and toothpaste out of a container. “Because the coating is a composite of solid and liquid, it can be tailored to the product,” explains Prof. Kripa Varanasi.
Katie Rae, CEO and president of The Engine, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner about the new venture, which is aimed at supporting startups focused on “tough tech.” Rae says The Engine is “a very hopeful project in my mind — investing in important ideas over the long-term.”