Radia, an energy startup founded by Mark Lundstrom '91, SM '93, MBA '93, has developed the “Windrunner,” an airplane designed to deliver 300-foot-blades directly to wind farms, reports Maureen O’Hare for CNN. The plane will “help the world meet its decarbonization targets, it’ll use sustainable aviation fuel and need only a simple packed-dirt or gravel runway to land on,” writes O’Hare.
Radia – a startup founded by Mark Lundstrom '91, SM '93, MBA '93 – has unveiled the “WindRunner,” a large cargo plane equipped with wind turbine blades aimed at transforming wind energy across the United States, reports Jennifer Hiller and Brian McGill for The Washington Post. “Radia estimates the larger turbines could reduce the cost of energy by up to 35% and increase the consistency of power generation by 20% compared with today’s onshore turbines,” they write.
Prof. Arnold Barnett speaks with NPR reporter Juliana Kim about airline safety and the risks associated with flying. According to Barnett, "from 2018 to 2022, the chances of a passenger being killed on a flight anywhere in the world was 1 in 13.4 million. Between 1968 to 1977, the chance was 1 in 350,000,” writes Kim.
David Zipper, Senior Fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative, speaks with Washington Post reporter Trisha Thadani about the safety behind self-driving car companies, such as Google’s robotaxi service, Waymo. Zipper says there is a disparity that “the companies are saying the technology is supposed to be a godsend for urban life, and it’s pretty striking that the leaders of these urban areas don’t really want them.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti addresses New York’s congestion pricing plan – an attempt to prevent traffic build up and improve public transportation – and ways Boston can develop a similar and more effective policy. “With congestion pricing, the city and state can combat the climate emergency, the cost of living crisis, and improve quality of life,” says Ratti. “If they don’t take action now, something even worse will come to pass: Boston will find itself outdone by New York.”
Prof. Arnold Barnett speaks with CNN reporter Jacopo Prisco about his forthcoming study examining the safety of air travel. “The main takeaway is that in the period between 2018 and 2022, the worldwide death risk per boarding was one in 13.4 million,” writes Prisco. “That means that if you picked a flight completely at random and just took it, your chance of dying in a plane crash or a terrorist act was about one in 13 million.”
Writing for Bloomberg, Prof. Carlo Ratti and Arianna Salazar-Miranda SM '16, PhD '23 explore the possibility and potential of developing 15-minute cities in America. “If implemented correctly, the 15-minute city can be an agent of freedom: freedom from traffic jams, freedom to live in a healthy environment and freedom to be outside,” they write. “It is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but our research shows that almost every community in America could benefit from a few more well-placed amenities.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a cathode, the negatively-charged part of an EV lithium-ion battery, using “small organic molecules instead of cobalt,” reports Hannah Northey for Energy Wire. The organic material, "would be used in an EV and cycled thousands of times throughout the car’s lifespan, thereby reducing the carbon footprint and avoiding the need to mine for cobalt,” writes Northey.
Writing for The Hill, Prof. Arnold Barnett examines the safety of passenger flights. “The safety of flying in countries like the U.S. is the eighth wonder of the world,” notes Barnett. “Far from being nervous as we approach the airport, we should be awestruck that flying is so free of risk — and deeply grateful to those who have made it so.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Lindsey Choo spotlights Principal Research Scientist Matthias Winkenbach and his work developing an AI model to help delivery drivers find the best routes. The model would “take into consideration complex real-world constraints,” such as allowing drivers to, “choose a route that may not be the shortest but allows them to park more conveniently or unload packages in safer spaces,” writes Choo.
Priyadarshi Panda PhD '11 – founder of International Battery Company, a startup developing lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles – is working to “bridge the demand-supply gap in the growing EV market in India,” reports Jagmeet Singh for TechCrunch. “There is a lot of demand in the Indian market, which is satisfied through imports right now,” says Panda. “No cells are being manufactured in India. So, we want to participate in that journey in India.”
Writing for The Hill, Principal Research Scientist Randolph Kirchain and Research Scientist Hessam Azarijafari address how the condition of the nation’s road system impacts transportation emissions. “Investing in a higher-performance road system is a lever within state control that will improve the efficiency and carbon emissions of all vehicles, regardless of how each is powered,” write Kirchain and Azarijafari. “Smoother, stiffer roads allow cars to travel along it more efficiently. Every time a car tire traverses a bump, crack, or pothole, energy is wasted.”
Prof. Jessika Trancik writes for Newsweek about the importance of government policy in supporting the transition to electric vehicles. “Policy is needed to make EVs widely accessible to people while the technology and markets continue to mature,” writes Trancik, “and to ensure the process moves quickly enough to help slow the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”
Writing for Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti examines recent attempts to shorten journeys between major cities, such as a hyperloop system that would transport passengers via giant vacuum tubes from London to Paris in about 20 minutes. “Customers clearly prefer a smooth experience to maximum speed,” writes Ratti. “They might also be choosing the Eurostar for having a carbon footprint that is about 95 per cent less than that of aircraft. While the hyperloop might have emitted less per journey than a plane, and perhaps even a high-speed train, its construction would have had a huge environmental cost.”
Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with Associated Press reporter Alexa St. John to discuss electric vehicle emissions and ownership costs. Trancik notes, “buyers should consider total cost of ownership, which for an EV is generally less than that of a gas-powered counterpart due to savings on maintenance and fuel.”