Prof. Kristala L. J. Prather speaks with Korie Grayson of C&EN about her career path and her work harnessing the synthetic power of microbial systems. Of the importance of mentorship, Prather notes, “The exponential way in which you can actually have a positive impact is by taking good care of the people who are placed into your academic and intellectual trust. That’s how we make a difference.”
“What we need to do, especially as we move more towards intermittent energy that we can’t predict as well as the output of thermal power plants is to keep adding to that resiliency,” says Robert Stoner, deputy director of the MIT Energy Initiative. Stoner discussed the recent failures of Texas’ power grid and what New England can learn from these events on WBUR’s Radio Boston.
Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with The Hill reporter Rachel Frazin about her research that demonstrates people can save more than 30% in emissions by switching to electric vehicles. “One can see an immediate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, even with today’s power grid and today’s power supply. It’s a really important step to electrify as many vehicles as possible, and quickly,” says Trancik.
Boston Business Journal reporter Catherine Carlock spotlights how MIT has submitted plans for the second phase of the Volpe redevelopment in Kendall Square. “The second phase could house a combined 1,400 residential units; 1.7 million square feet of lab, research and office space; a 20,000-square-foot community center; 3.5 acres of open space and other retail, entertainment and cultural facilities,” writes Carlock.
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.”
Financial Times reporter Michael Pooler highlights MIT startup Boston Metals, which has devised “a technology for making brand-new steel without emissions using electricity.”
Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan writes about how MIT has submitted design plans for the next phase of its proposal to transform the Volpe Transportation Center into a dynamic mixed-use development, including “eight office and residential towers on the 14-acre site north of Broadway.”
Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with Jesse Remedios of WBUR about her new study that identifies locations where electric vehicle charging stations would have the most impact and help increase the adoption of electric vehicles. “It's important to make sure that chargers are placed where people can charge without having to delay their activities,” Trancik says.
New York Times reporter Brad Plumer spotlights a new study by Prof. Jessika Trancik that finds “new chargers on residential streets, as well as high-speed charging stations along highways, would go a long way to supporting an electric-vehicle boom.”
Mashable reporter Sasha Lekach spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that finds installing more charging stations close to residences and in locations that match where people naturally stop, would help increase usage of electric vehicles. The researchers found that “this helps to make charging more accessible while drivers are going about everyday activities.”
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers quantifies the carbon costs of working from home, reports Devin Coldewey for TechCrunch. “In order to build a sustainable digital world, it is imperative to carefully assess the environmental footprints of the Internet and identify the individual and collective actions that most affect its growth,” the researchers explain.
Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Berger highlights Superpedestrian, an MIT startup and electric scooter company that secured $60 million in funding. Berger notes that Superpedestrian “spent more than four years designing a vehicle intelligence system that can diagnose and maintain itself.”
Gizmodo reporter Dharna Noor writes that a new report by MIT researchers finds that U.S. electricity demand could be met with currently available carbon-free technologies. The researchers found that “the best way to move the country to 100% carbon-free energy is to implement a nationwide plan, rather than taking a state-by-state or regional approach.”
Fast Company reporter Nate Berg writes that architects from MIT startup Generate have developed a new system that could be used to help make the architecture and construction process more environmentally sustainable. The new systemized approach could “save time and money, while also cutting down on buildings’ environmental footprint.”
Financial Times reporter Henry Sanderson spotlights Prof. Donald Sadoway’s work developing new battery chemistries that would allow batteries to store energy for longer than six hours.