Boston Globe reporter Stan Grossfeld spotlights a visit to the MIT Media Lab by Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas and Kalis Gregory, a seventh grader from Hyde Park. “They saw prosthetic limbs that are computerized to transmit information to the brain. They heard about digestible electronics that can harvest energy from moving body parts and they tested computer games with codes written by kids.”
In this video, WCVB Chronicle host Anthony Everett visits Prof. Neil Gershenfeld at the Center for Bits and Atoms to learn about the global network of Fab Labs. Everett explains that Gershenfeld sees Fab Labs as places of “collaboration and networking and mentoring where ideas can literally take form. Where you don’t borrow, but make what you want.”
In this video, Channel 7 spotlights Girls Day, an MIT Museum event aimed at encouraging girls to explore STEM fields. Attendees were able to meet the women’s basketball team “and learn the science behind making the perfect shot. Other activities included learning math through dance and the physics of pitching, hosted by the school’s softball team.”
Maia Weinstock, deputy editor of MIT News, speaks with Audie Cornish and Ari Shapiro of NPR’s All Things Considered about the LEGO set she designed that celebrates the history of women at NASA. Weinstock explains that she aimed to showcase “a diverse range of women who had different roles at NASA.”
LEGO has selected MIT staff member Maia Weinstock’s Women of NASA set to become an official LEGO set, the Associated Press reports. Weinstock, who is the deputy editor of MIT News, is an “advocate for girls and women, particularly in the areas of science, technology, politics and athletics.”
Washington Post reporter Sarah Larimer writes that the Women of NASA LEGO set developed by Maia Weinstock, deputy editor for MIT News, will become an official LEGO set. Weinstock says she hopes the set, which depicts the contributions of five of NASA’s female pioneers, “helps to inspire the kids of the future!”
A LEGO set created by Maia Weinstock, deputy editor of MIT News, has been selected to become an official LEGO set, reports Rebecca Shapiro for The Huffington Post. The set depicts five women who made historic contributions to NASA.
CNN reporter Ben Westcott writes that a LEGO set honoring women of NASA created by Maia Weinstock, deputy editor of MIT News, has been selected to become an official LEGO set. Westcott writes that the new set “will feature some of the pioneering women who played vital but sometimes under-appreciated roles in the U.S. space program.”
In this FOX 25 segment, Prof. John Leonard explains why he created an online lesson that demonstrates the science behind the Deflategate controversy. He notes that the lesson is aimed at giving “students the tools so they can be the scientists,” adding that he also hopes to “get more young people excited about math and science.”
In this Wired video, Prof. Anette “Peko” Hosoi explains how she and her team designed a material, inspired by semiaquatic mammals, to help keep surfers warm. “We want to understand the physical mechanisms behind the biological solution and then adapt those mechanisms into engineering design."
KQED reporter Queena Sook Kim highlights Code Next, a program created by researchers from the Media Lab and Google aimed at encouraging high school students to learn to code through the process of making. “Coding is also making, and it takes the same problem-solving skills as making stuff in real life,” Kim explains.
CBC reporter Nora Young explores how MIT researchers have developed a new material, inspired by beaver fur, that could help keep surfers warm. “In sports technology there's a great need for textiles that have great insulating properties in water, but still let you stay agile and nimble,” explains graduate student Alice Nasto.
CNN reporter Katie Pisa spotlights alumnus Obinna Ukwuani’s dedication to opening a STEM school in Nigeria. Ukwuani says he was inspired by his time in Nigeria after years of studying in the U.S. "In the U.S., if you work hard, you'll be fine in this life. So I had that moment where I knew I wanted to improve things in Nigeria."
Graduate student Alice Nasto speaks with Cynthia Graber of Scientific American about her research designing a material inspired by the fur that keeps beavers and sea otters warm. Nasto explains that the fur "evolved to trap air, and this air provides a layer of insulation for them in water.”
Researchers at the MIT Media Lab are joining forces with Google to create a program aimed at mentoring the next generation of African-American and Latino computer scientists in Oakland, California, reports Ethan Baron for The Mercury News.