Spill The News

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When Sonya Atalay conducted her doctoral research, she studied pottery in Çatalhöyük, a remarkable ancient site in Turkey. It’s one of the world’s earliest known urban settlements, flourishing by at least 7000 B.C.E. Yet even as Atalay was…

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In 2026, the hype for artificial intelligence agents is louder than ever before. These semi-autonomous programs can “think” and execute well-defined tasks in areas like customer service and software development, typically using language…

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Tod Machover, the Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media, faculty director of the MIT Media Lab, and director of the Opera of the Future research group, will receive the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music…

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In the United States, children routinely receive an injectable form of the polio vaccine. This vaccine is very effective at preventing illness, but it doesn’t block transmission of the polio virus as well as the oral polio vaccine does.…

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With help from a novel cross-linking molecule, MIT chemists have shown they can substantially improve the ballistic impact resistance of common polymers, including polystyrene and a type of rubber used to make shoe soles. Polystyrene is a…

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To accelerate and refine decision-making in a fast-paced, global marketplace, enterprises may deploy generative artificial intelligence models to help summarize and interpret the charts that often fill market summaries and financial…

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When a team of MIT students turned up at a national robotics tournament, their robot — aptly named Timbot — wouldn’t work. They’d been invited to demonstrate Timbot at the inaugural United States Governors Cup in Washington, D.C., a March…

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MIT engineers have developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants. The new device is designed as a small sticker…

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Balancing economic growth and environmental protection is not easy. Consider wetlands, which provide flood protection, aid water quality, and are linchpins of larger ecosystems. How can we best preserve wetlands while enhancing economic…

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MIT engineers are testing a new propulsion system that combines the power and speed of conventional chemical thrusters with the precision and fuel-efficiency of electrical thrusters. The system could enable the design of nimbler, more…

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Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, proteins…

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Cheered on by the greater MIT community, members of the Class of 2026 were honored this week for the hard work that earned them their newly minted MIT degrees. The 2026 Commencement celebrations spanned three days filled with degree…

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What distinguishes the MIT School of Architecture and Planning’s Class of 2026? According to faculty and staff across the school, it’s their hearts. “They’re big-hearted in the way they deal with each other, with their work, and with the…

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“I’m originally from Moorestown, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia. While my degree is in chemical engineering, I consider myself a materials scientist, and I’m passionate about using innovative materials to propel next-generation…

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After years of study and instruction, MIT’s Class of 2026 received one last piece of guidance this afternoon en route to picking up their diplomas and starting the next chapter of their lives. “Run toward the hardest problems,” said Lisa…

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Below is the text of Lisa Su’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Good afternoon. President Kornbluth, Chairman Gorenberg, trustees, faculty, families, friends … and most importantly, the MIT Class of 2026.…

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On May 28, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced plans for a new laboratory to accelerate the development of next-generation quantum technologies that will enable Massachusetts to remain a national…

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Below is the text of President Sally Kornbluth’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Technically, as MIT’s president, it’s now my job to deliver a “charge” to the graduates. But this year, I faced that assignment with a…

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Demand for lithium has surged in recent years as lithium-ion batteries power increasingly more of our world. And yet, even as places like the U.S., Europe, and Australia have abundant lithium resources within their borders, China dominates…

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Every year, about 85,000 Americans are diagnosed with bladder cancer. While treatment is often successful, bladder cancer has one of the highest rates of recurrence of any cancer: Following treatment, about 50 percent of patients develop…

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MIT and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced plans to establish the Quantum Systems Laboratory (QSL) at MIT, which will be open to researchers across the region. With the new funding from the state, which will match federal funding…

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The MIT Corporation — the Institute’s board of trustees — has elected 10 full-term members, who will serve five-year terms, and two life members. Corporation Chair Mark P. Gorenberg ’76 announced the election results today. The full-term…

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When doctors and scientists want to see inside a body, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool. MRI can noninvasively capture detailed images of the body’s muscles, organs, and bones. It can monitor blood flow to generate a map…

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Aiming to transition away from fossil fuels and avert the worst consequences of climate change, world leaders aspire to achieve net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. But actions to…

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You will never catch Krystal Montgomery running to class. Literally. She is that fast. The MIT senior — a Course 6-3 (Computer Science and Engineering) major and Course 4 (Design) minor — was recently named the New England Women’s and…

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Ten MIT affiliates — including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni — have accepted Fulbright grants to conduct research in countries across the world. Five other students declined their awards to pursue other opportunities, and…

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“Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, took viewers to a new world, Pandora, and it advanced filmmaking to its own new world: developing the field of virtual production. Leveraging a wide range of technologies such as performance…

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“Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, took viewers to a new world, Pandora, and it advanced filmmaking to its own new world: developing the field of virtual production. Leveraging a wide range of technologies such as performance…

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“I came to MIT Sloan intent on joining a vibrant ecosystem for entrepreneurship and leadership development,” says Alecia Asiamigbe, an MIT Sloan Fellow and MBA student in the MIT Sloan School of Management who is graduating this week.…

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In a theater, the first thing the audience sees, and looks at the longest, is the stage. Even so, set design is something most of us know little about. Why does a set have its form and elements? How does it suit the performance? Consider a…

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A new short film from MIT Open Learning explores the origin, influence, and global reach of MIT OpenCourseWare, reflecting on its role in establishing MIT, in 2001, as the first higher education institution to make educational resources…

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A new short film from MIT Open Learning explores the origin, influence, and global reach of MIT OpenCourseWare, reflecting on its role in establishing MIT, in 2001, as the first higher education institution to make educational resources…

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For many graduate students, waking up at noon after a 4 a.m. bedtime is a sign of a night well spent. For a group of MIT students, it was simply the start of their workday — timed not to the sun, but to the aurora. Their goal was simple:…

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Nik Sandu points to a graph on the whiteboard in a seventh-grade science class. “According to the graph, what is the energy of the ball?” she asks, gently waving a hand to settle the room’s twitchy energy. “Voices are off.” A student…

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MIT economist Whitney Newey PhD ’83, the Ford Professor of Economics, emeritus, has received the 2026 Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics . The biennial Nemmers prizes from Northwestern University recognize top scholars for their…

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Even in the primary visual cortex, a brain region named for its specialized role in processing basic features of what the eyes see, not every neuron ends up answering the call to process properties of visual input. Maybe that’s because…

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The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected 120 members and 25 international members for 2026, including six MIT faculty members and 10 additional alumni. Among MIT professors, Bengt Holmström, Michale Fee, Gareth McKinley ’91,…

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This spring, six reporters from The Associated Press’ climate desk traveled from cities across the United States to work with students from the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing . Students developed and pitched local climate stories,…

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About 2 billion people — just under a quarter of the world’s population — lack regular access to clean drinking water. And roughly 800,000 people annually die from illnesses associated with unsanitary water. Drinking water access is a…

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At any given time, technology does two things to employment: It replaces traditional jobs, and it creates new lines of work. Machines replace farmers, but enable, say, aeronautical engineers to exist. So, if tech creates new jobs, who gets…

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MIT scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry have been named 2026 Searle Scholars , an award given annually to 15 exceptional early-career researchers in the fields of biomedical sciences and chemistry. Dorkenwald is an assistant…

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In 2023, the Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), an academic unit in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, introduced a new standalone PhD degree program . This interdisciplinary PhD program blends both coursework…

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In 2023, the Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), an academic unit in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, introduced a new standalone PhD degree program . This interdisciplinary PhD program blends both coursework…

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A high-performance steel with MIT origins has come full circle. After proving its worth in Formula One and Baja 1000 race cars, the computationally designed material has now been incorporated into the 2026 electric race car built by the…

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Among all of the possible chemical compounds, it’s estimated that between 10 20 and 10 60 may hold potential as small-molecule drugs. Evaluating each of those compounds experimentally would be far too time-consuming for chemists. So, in…

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Justin Solomon, associate professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), has been appointed associate dean of engineering education in the MIT School of Engineering, effective July 1. In this new…

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Justin Solomon, associate professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), has been appointed associate dean of engineering education in the MIT School of Engineering, effective July 1. In this new…

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Urbanization in the Asia-Pacific region of the world is occurring at an alarmingly rapid pace, with more than 2.2 billion people now living in cities in the region, and an additional 1.2 billion projected to migrate to cities by 2050,…

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Senior MBA student Patrick Yeung came to MIT Sloan School of Management wanting to be surrounded by a community of builders. “I come from a consulting background, which has its own strengths and gives you a specific toolkit, but I felt…

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The Haystack 37m Telescope has been a landmark in radio astronomy and radar studies of the solar system since its first light in 1964. Over the following four decades, it supported NASA's Apollo landings on the moon, made planetary radar…

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Using a powerful single-molecule imaging method they developed, a research team from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has unveiled a dynamic view of how some cancer-related proteins interact in living cells. The technique relies on…

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In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs) could fly through a collapsed building to map the scene, giving rescuers information they need to quickly reach survivors. But this remains an extremely…

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The brain’s capacity to use and understand language expands rapidly in the first years of life, as babies start to make sense of the words they hear and eventually begin to piece together sentences of their own. The language-processing…

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In 2001, at the dawn of the digital age, MIT made a bold decision: to open its curriculum to the world. Through MIT OpenCourseWare — now part of MIT Open Learning — the Institute began sharing materials from nearly all of its courses…

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In 2001, at the dawn of the digital age, MIT made a bold decision: to open its curriculum to the world. Through MIT OpenCourseWare — now part of MIT Open Learning — the Institute began sharing materials from nearly all of its courses…

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A startup making emergency housing cheaper and faster to deploy won this year’s MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition on May 12. Uplift Microhome is building reusable, modular housing units to provide housing on demand to people affected…

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MIT graduate students are working with leaders from the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia to explore strategies for economic development, infrastructure, and innovation during wartime conditions. As part of the MIT Department of Urban Studies…

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That there is tremendous potential for nanotechnology to transform cancer detection and treatment is a vision that has guided faculty at the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine through its first 10 years. On April 9, the center gathered…

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One day after the announcement of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) outlined the implications of the war in the Middle East on the global energy system and the world’s…

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MIT master’s student Sunshine Jiang ’25 and Rupert Li ’24 are recipients of this year’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarship. Now in its ninth year, the highly competitive scholarship provides up to three years of financial support for graduate…

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MIT class 2.72/2.270 (Elements of Mechanical Design) offers undergraduate and graduate students advanced study of modeling, design, and integration, along with best practices for use of machine elements like bearings, bolts, belts,…

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MIT class 2.72/2.270 (Elements of Mechanical Design) offers undergraduate and graduate students advanced study of modeling, design, and integration, along with best practices for use of machine elements like bearings, bolts, belts,…

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When Akorfa Dagadu arrived at MIT, she had a solution in mind: a mobile app to improve recycling and environmental engagement in her home country of Ghana. The project, called Ishara, aimed to make it easier for people to participate in…

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This week, MIT launches a new initiative — titled Science Is Curiosity on a Mission — to make the case for the long-horizon, curiosity-driven science that has powered generations of American innovation. Through stories of scientists…

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Since joining the faculty of MIT’s Department of Political Science in 2012, F. Daniel Hidalgo, known to many as “Danny,” has built a reputation as both a meticulous quantitative scholar and one of the department’s most generous and…

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Elazer R. Edelman ’78, SM ’79, PhD ’84, an engineer and cardiologist who helped develop cardiovascular stents that have been used by more than 100 million people, has been named the recipient of the 2026-2027 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty…

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Oxygen is a cornerstone of chemistry, largely because it is so good at building the organic molecules that make up our world. Some oxygen-based compounds, called peroxides, are famous for being highly reactive — they act like oxygen…

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It’s been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today there are several techniques that allow…

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MIT engineers have developed a new way to amplify the T-cell response to mRNA vaccines — an advance that could lead to much more powerful cancer vaccines and stronger protection against infectious diseases. Most vaccines generate both…

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On April 28, 2025, the power grid serving continental Spain and Portugal went down, causing gridlock in cities, cutting communications networks, and stranding people on trains, in airports, and in elevators all across the Iberian peninsula…

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The hallowed history of student pranks (often known as hacks) at MIT includes the annual Baker House Piano Drop and the MIT weather balloon at the Harvard-Yale football game in 1982. One hack that has shown remarkable staying power in…

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Dark matter is thought to make up most of the matter in the universe, but the only way it interacts with its surroundings is through gravity. If two colliding black holes spiral through a dense region of dark matter and merge,…

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MIT's Universal Learning is a new initiative from MIT Open Learning designed to prepare learners everywhere to tackle complex global challenges through boundary-crossing thinking. Universal Learning offerings combine subject matter…

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“Artificial intelligence is not just for computer scientists anymore; it’s going to permeate every aspect of our lives and influence every business,” says MIT President Sally Kornbluth. The world is reaching an inflection point with…

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Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing and…

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Quantum computers could someday solve pressing problems that are too convoluted for classical computers, such as modeling complex molecular interactions to streamline drug discovery and materials development. But to build a superconducting…

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Despite regional variability in climate, electricity sources, congestion, and the wide variation in individual driving patterns, electric vehicles generate less greenhouse gas emissions and do not cost more than comparable gas-powered…

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A crepe cake. That’s how Camille Cunin describes the polymer-metal “sandwiches” that became a highlight of her doctoral thesis at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE). Over close to five years, these composites were…

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In late October 2025, Tropical Storm Melissa moved through the Caribbean Sea with moderate winds that didn’t get much attention. But on Oct. 25, aided by a patch of warm ocean, the storm rapidly intensified. By the time it made landfall in…

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Jack Carson, a second-year undergraduate at MIT majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, has been named a 2026 Udall Scholar, one of up to 65 undergraduates nationally to receive the prestigious $7,500 award. The Udall…

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Each year, faculty and researchers across the MIT School of Engineering are recognized with prestigious awards for their contributions to research, technology, society, and education. To celebrate these achievements, the school…

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Over 200 students, alumni, faculty, staff, funders, and community collaborators gathered at the MIT Media Lab on April 15 for the 25th annual IDEAS Social Innovation Incubator Showcase and Awards, hosted by the Priscilla King Gray (PKG)…

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In the new review article, “ Categorization is Baked into the Brain ,” cognitive scientists Earl K. Miller , Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, and Lisa Feldman Barrett , university distinguished professor at Northeastern…

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Lidar systems use pulses of infrared light to measure distance and map a 3D scene with high resolution, allowing autonomous vehicles to rapidly react to obstacles that appear in their path. But traditional lidar sensors are expensive,…

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When we hear about automation and artificial intelligence replacing jobs, it may seem like a tsunami of technology is going to wipe out workers broadly, in the name of greater efficiency. But a study co-authored by an MIT economist shows…

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Since 1998, members of MIT’s BrainTrust club have helped Boston-area residents with brain injuries or other neurological disorders through their buddy program. The organization’s members also visit patients in nursing homes suffering from…

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Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a more user-friendly and efficient method to help networking engineers identify potential system failures before they cause major problems, like a cloud service outage that leaves millions…

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Gabriele Farina grew up in a small town in a hilly winemaking region of northern Italy. Neither of his parents had college degrees, and although both were convinced they “didn’t understand math,” Farina says, they bought him the technical…

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On April 10, MIT marked its first official Robert R. Taylor Day with a program centered on the life and work of Robert Robinson Taylor (Class of 1892), the Institute’s first Black graduate and the first academically trained Black architect…

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On April 10, MIT marked its first official Robert R. Taylor Day with a program centered on the life and work of Robert Robinson Taylor (Class of 1892), the Institute’s first Black graduate and the first academically trained Black architect…

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Across the Milky Way galaxy, a planetary odd couple is circling a star some 190 light years from Earth. A normally “lonely” hot Jupiter is sharing space with a mini-Neptune, in a rare and unlikely pairing that’s had astronomers puzzled…

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In 1960, engineers at India’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) built what they called an “Automatic Calculator,” the country’s first working computer. It had the same type of ferrite-core memory as IBM’s world-leading…

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Ribosomes, the cellular machines that assemble proteins, are made from dozens of proteins and RNA molecules. Putting all of those pieces together is a complex puzzle — one that MIT Associate Professor Joey Davis PhD ’10 revels in trying to…

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Although many studies approach the developmental disorder Rett syndrome as a single condition arising from general loss of function in the gene MECP2, a new study by neuroscientists in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT…

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Each year, more than 1,500 researchers rely on over 200 tools and instruments at MIT.nano to pursue experiments that span MIT’s disciplines, collectively generating 160,000 hours of work across 88,000 instances of tool use. Behind this…

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In 1985, the Innovative Design Fund placed an ad in Scientific American offering up to $10,000 to support clever prototypes for clothing, home decor, and textiles. William Freeman PhD ’92, then an electrical engineer at Polaroid and now an…

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Gene expression is controlled, in part, by the interactions between genes and regulatory elements located along the genome. Those interactions depend on the ability of chromatin — a mix of DNA and proteins — to move around within a crowded…

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Found Industries has gone through several distinct phases in the four years since it was originally formed as Found Energy. There was the scrappy startup stage, in which the company was primarily housed in the basement of founder Peter…

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MIT Research Scientist Afreen Siddiqi ’99, SM ’01, PhD ’06; MIT professors Kathleen Thelen and Vinod Vaikuntanathan SM ’05, PhD ’09; as well as Kate Manne PhD ’11 are among 223 scientists, artists, and scholars awarded 2026 fellowships…

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A dozen MIT students recently set out for Barcelona — not just to study climate resilience, but to experience it firsthand. As part of STS.S22 (How to Grow Resilient Futures: Regenerative Agriculture and Economies in Catalunya, Spain), an…

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A dozen MIT students recently set out for Barcelona — not just to study climate resilience, but to experience it firsthand. As part of STS.S22 (How to Grow Resilient Futures: Regenerative Agriculture and Economies in Catalunya, Spain), an…

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The human brain remains one of the most fascinating and perplexing mysteries in medicine. Scientists still struggle to match neurological activity with brain function and detect problems early, slowing efforts to treat neurological…

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GPS navigation, cryptography, quantum computing — while some of humankind’s greatest advancements have been invented by pioneers from various cultures, they were founded upon one common grammar: mathematics. “Mathematics is the language…

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When a gene is turned on in a cell, it creates a ripple effect along the DNA strand, changing the physical structure of the strand. A new study by MIT researchers shows that these ripples can stimulate or suppress neighboring genes. These…

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Materials called relaxor ferroelectrics have been used for decades in technologies like ultrasounds, microphones, and sonar systems. Their unique properties come from their atomic structure, but that structure has stubbornly eluded direct…

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Recent studies suggest animals and people alike have close and complex relationships with the bacteria around and within them. The human gut microbiome, for instance, has been associated with both depression and Parkinson’s disease. To go…

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Scientists and engineers around the world are working to improve quantum bits, or qubits, the minuscule building blocks of the quantum computer. Qubits are incredibly sensitive, making it easy for errors to be introduced, lowering device…

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Good caregivers are often in short supply, but after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in early 2020, staff levels at nursing homes dropped by 10 percent. What was a simple personnel shortage has moved closer to being a nursing-care…

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Feathers give birds their dazzling colors. They repel water and trap heat, keeping them warm and dry. They can even stifle sound, allowing species such as owls to hunt in virtual silence. All of these functions come from the remarkable…

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“The thing that really struck me when I came to MIT and strikes me every single day is the stuff that’s going on here is amazing. The science, the engineering… every day I hear something that makes my jaw drop,” remarked President Sally…

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In today’s hospitals and clinics, a dermatologist may use an artificial intelligence model for classifying skin lesions to assess if the lesion is at risk of developing into a cancer or if it is benign. But if the model is biased toward…

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A new immersive sound installation at Oulu Cathedral, Finland, brings the research of MIT astrophysicist and associate professor of physics Kiyoshi Masui into a striking sensory form, transforming more than 4,000 cosmic signals into…

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Cherry Tang, a master of science in real estate development student at the MIT Center for Real Estate, recently participated in an experiential learning opportunity in Panama working with Conservatorio, a development firm based in Casco…

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The following is a joint announcement by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and IBM. IBM and MIT today announced the launch of the MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab, advancing their long-standing collaboration to shape the next era of…

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There is no question that violin-making is an art form. It requires a musician’s ear, a craftsperson’s skill, and an historian’s appreciation of lessons learned over time. Making a violin also takes trust: Violin makers, or luthiers, often…

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A new method developed by MIT researchers can accelerate a privacy-preserving artificial intelligence training method by about 81 percent. This advance could enable a wider array of resource-constrained edge devices, like sensors and…

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Under a microscope, a bouquet of lollipop-like structures, each smaller than a grain of sand, waves gently in a petri dish of liquid. Suddenly, they snap together, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, as a scientist waves a small magnet over…

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Robotically assembled building blocks could be a more environmentally friendly method for erecting large-scale structures than some existing construction techniques, according to a new study by MIT researchers. The team conducted a…

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Patterns of molecular activity in the blood may hold clues not only to how fit someone is, but also to the biological processes that support physical performance. Researchers at MIT, GE HealthCare, and the U.S. Military Academy at West…

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Six MIT affiliates — Denisse Córdova Carrizales SM ’26; Ria Das ’21, MNG ’22; Ronak Desai; Stacy Godfreey-Igwe ’22; Arya Rao; and Ananthan Sadagopan ’24 — have been named 2026 P.D. Soros Fellows. In addition, P.D. Soros Fellow Avinash…

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MIT researchers discovered a paradoxical phenomenon in optical physics that could enable a new bioimaging method that’s faster and higher-resolution than existing technology. They discovered that, under the right conditions, a chaotic mess…

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Due to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, it is estimated that data centers will consume up to 12 percent of total U.S. electricity by 2028 , according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Improving data center…

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A supportive ecosystem is a cornerstone in entrepreneurship, according to Georgina Campbell Flatter, the CEO of Greentown Labs. “If we really want to be driving the most transformational technologies to scale at a speed in which we need…

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Every year, the countries competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) arrive with a booklet of their best, most original problems. Those booklets get shared among delegations, then quietly disappear. No one had ever…

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Gabi Hott Soares, associate director of student organizations and programming for the Student Organizations, Leadership, and Engagement Office (SOLE) in the Division of Student Life (DSL), empowers and equips students to lead and serve not…

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Three MIT rising seniors have been selected to receive a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, including Deeksha Kumaresh in the School of Engineering and Anna Liu and Charlotte Myersin the School of Science. An estimated 5,000 college…

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In an outstanding performance at the 86th William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition , MIT’s team once again took the top spot for the sixth consecutive year. MIT secured four of the five Putnam Fellows, who are the five…

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As quantum computers advance, they are expected to be able to break tried-and-true security schemes that currently keep most sensitive data secure from attackers. Scientists and policymakers are working to design and implement post-quantum…

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Four MIT faculty members are among the roughly 250 leaders from academia, the arts, industry, public policy, and research elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the academy announced April 22. Thirteen additional MIT alumni…

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Confidence is persuasive. In artificial intelligence systems, it is often misleading. Today's most capable reasoning models share a trait with the loudest voice in the room: They deliver every answer with the same unshakable certainty,…

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The next time you find yourself lulled by the patter of rain outside your window, think how that same sprinkle might sound if you were a tiny seed planted directly below a free-falling droplet. Would you still be similarly soothed? In…

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MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing Professor T.L. Taylor has been named a 2026-27 fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (CASBS), a highly selective residential program that convenes…

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When you throw a ball in the air, the equations of classical physics will tell you exactly what path the ball will take as it falls, and when and where it will land. But if you were to squeeze that same ball down to the size of an atom or…

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Mitali Chowdhury ’24 and Christina Kim ’24 have been selected as 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholars. The highly competitive fellowship offers fully funded opportunities for postgraduate study in any field at Cambridge University in the U.K. Kim…

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In a world leaning away from globalization, governments face a tough choice: Should they block dominant foreign companies to protect local businesses, or welcome them in hopes of fast-tracking economic growth and modernization? In his…

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The MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) showcased its high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology, essential for fusion energy and increasingly relevant to superhot geothermal applications, to Representative Jake…

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A national housing shortage is straining finances and communities across the United States. In Massachusetts, at least 222,000 homes will have to be built in the next 10 years to meet the population's needs. At the same time, there are…

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It’s an essential insight about our world: Innovation drives economic growth. For the U.S. to thrive, it must keep innovating. But how, and in what areas? A new book co-authored by MIT faculty members focuses on six key areas where…

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Chances are, you’ve already used a satellite today. Satellites make it possible for us to stream our favorite shows, call and text a friend, check weather and navigation apps, and make an online purchase. Satellites also monitor the…

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MIT Professor Michael T. Laub as well as 21 MIT alumni have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The 2025 class of AAAS Fellows includes 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators,…

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Picture this scenario in a business: An employee, Brad, disclosed some information that wound up in the hands of a competitor. He may not have meant to, but he did, and a few people at the firm know this. So, at the next company meeting,…

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MIT Associate Professor Jacob Andreas of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science [EECS] and MIT Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry have been selected as the winners of the 2026 Harold E.…

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MIT Associate Professor Jacob Andreas of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science [EECS] and MIT Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry have been selected as the winners of the 2026 Harold E.…

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Artificial intelligence is already proving it can accelerate drug development and improve our understanding of disease. But to turn AI into novel treatments we need to get the latest, most powerful models into the hands of scientists. The…

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Animal behavior reflects a complex interplay between an animal’s brain and its sensory surroundings. Only rarely have scientists been able to discern how actions emerge from this interaction. A new open-access study in Nature Neuroscience…

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Asian immigrants are both the fastest-growing and highest-earning immigrant ethnic group in the United States, facts that have caught the attention of many economists interested in how these groups — whether investors or residents — impact…

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Consider the chief difference between living systems and electronics: The first is generally soft and squishy, while the latter is hard and rigid. Now, in work that could impact human-machine interfaces, biocompatible devices, soft…

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Often hailed as the most successful international environmental agreement of all time, the 1987 Montreal Protocol continues to successfully phase out the global production of chemicals that were creating a growing hole in the ozone layer,…

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A new study from MIT suggests that a carcinogen that has been found in medications and in drinking water contaminated by chemical plants may have a much more severe impact on children than adults. In a study of mice, the researchers found…

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Cells are enveloped by a lipid membrane that gives them structure and provides a barrier between the cell and its environment. However, evidence has recently emerged suggesting that these membranes do more than simply provide protection —…

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On a calm day, a light breeze might barely ripple the surface of a lake on Earth. But on Saturn’s largest moon Titan, a similar mild wind would kick up 10-foot-tall waves. This otherworldly behavior is one prediction from a new wave model…

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Drill deep and drill differently. That’s what’s needed to exploit the nearly bottomless promise of geothermal energy in the United States and around the globe, according to participants at the 2026 Spring Symposium, titled “Next-generation…

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The American Physical Society (APS) recently honored two MIT faculty members — professors Yoel Fink PhD ’00 and Mehran Kardar PhD ’83 — as well as six alumni with prizes and awards for their contributions to physics and academic…

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A special class of sensors leverages quantum properties to measure tiny signals at levels that would be impossible using classical sensors alone. Such quantum sensors are currently being used to study the inner workings of cells and the…

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The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) was founded in 1950 in response to “a new era emerging from social upheaval and the disasters of war,” as outlined in the 1949 Lewis Committee Report . The report’s findings…

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All the ingredients to leave the first layer of the atmosphere were laying on a picnic table. T-minus 30 minutes before launch from the New York Catskills, students in MIT's reborn 16.00 (Introduction to Aerospace Engineering) course tore…

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The electricity to an island goes out. To find the break in the underwater power cable, a ship pulls up the entire line or deploys remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to traverse the line. But what if an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)…

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The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) was founded in 1950 in response to “a new era emerging from social upheaval and the disasters of war,” as outlined in the 1949 Lewis Committee Report . The report’s findings…

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Oceans absorb roughly 25 to 30 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) that is released into the atmosphere. When this CO 2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, making the water more acidic and altering its chemistry. Elevated…

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The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) was founded in 1950 in response to “a new era emerging from social upheaval and the disasters of war,” as outlined in the 1949 Lewis Committee Report . The report’s findings…

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All the ingredients to leave the first layer of the atmosphere were laying on a picnic table. T-minus 30 minutes before launch from the New York Catskills, students in MIT's reborn 16.00 (Introduction to Aerospace Engineering) course tore…

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It is not hard to find glowing reviews of saxophonist Miguel Zenón, a creative jazz artist whose compositions incorporate musical elements from his native Puerto Rico. For instance, The Jazz Times called “Jibaro,” Zenón’s breakthrough 2005…

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Jack Dennis, an influential MIT professor emeritus of computer science and engineering, died on March 14 at age 94. The original leader of the Computation Structures Group within the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence…

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Millions of students nationwide use text-supplemented audiobooks, learning tools that are thought to help those who struggle with reading keep up in the classroom. A new study from scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research…

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Training a large artificial intelligence model is expensive, not just in dollars, but in time, energy, and computational resources. Traditionally, obtaining a smaller, faster model either requires training a massive one first and then…

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Bank runs are dramatic: Picture Depression-era footage of customers lined up, trying to get their deposits back. Or recall Lehmann Brothers emptying out in 2008 or Silicon Valley Bank collapsing in 2023. But what causes these runs in the…

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Millions of students nationwide use text-supplemented audiobooks, learning tools that are thought to help those who struggle with reading keep up in the classroom. A new study from scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research…

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Desirée Plata, the School of Engineering Distinguished Climate and Energy Professor in the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been named associate dean of engineering, effective July 1. In her new role, Plata will…

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When fundamental particles are heavier or lighter than expected, physicists’ understanding of the universe can tip into the unknown. A particle that is just beyond its predicted mass can unravel scientists’ assumptions about the forces…

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U.S. News and World Report has again placed MIT’s graduate program in engineering at the top of its annual rankings, released today. The Institute has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs. The MIT…

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U.S. News and World Report has again placed MIT’s graduate program in engineering at the top of its annual rankings, released today. The Institute has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs. The MIT…

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To improve data center efficiency, multiple storage devices are often pooled together over a network so many applications can share them. But even with pooling, significant device capacity remains underutilized due to performance…

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U.S. News and World Report has again placed MIT’s graduate program in engineering at the top of its annual rankings, released today. The Institute has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs. The MIT…

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Hydrogen sits at the center of some of the world’s most important industrial processes, but its production still comes with a heavy environmental cost. Today, most hydrogen is produced through high-emissions processes like steam methane…

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In 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface — a momentous engineering and science feat marked by his iconic words: "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Now, NASA is making history…

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In a study focused on New York City, MIT researchers have shown that existing sensors and mobile data can be used to generate a near real-time, high-resolution picture of auto emissions, which could be used to develop local transportation…

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Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to help optimize decision-making in high-stakes settings. For instance, an autonomous system can identify a power distribution strategy that minimizes costs while keeping voltages stable.…

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Designers, makers, and others often use 3D printing to rapidly prototype a range of functional objects, from movie props to medical devices. Accurate print previews are essential so users know a fabricated object will perform as expected.…

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This March on The Curiosity Desk , GBH’s daily science show with host Edgar B. Herwick III, MIT scientists dropped by to address the questions: “How close are we to observing the dark universe?” ( Thursday, March 12 episode ) and “Is Earth…

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We are what we eat. And in the ocean, most life-forms source their food from phytoplankton. These microscopic, plant-like algae are the primary food source for krill, sea snails, some small fish, and jellyfish, which in turn feed larger…

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In biology, defects are generally bad. But in materials science, defects can be intentionally tuned to give materials useful new properties. Today, atomic-scale defects are carefully introduced during the manufacturing process of products…

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Since her first journalism fellowship covering energy and the environment at the NPR station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Madison Goldberg has been drawn to science communication and audio storytelling. Now, after reporting on topics from…

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Since her first journalism fellowship covering energy and the environment at the NPR station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Madison Goldberg has been drawn to science communication and audio storytelling. Now, after reporting on topics from…

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Growing up in the village of Kewa — located between Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico — William Pacheco , a member of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, learned the value of his language, its history, and the traditions it carries. “We speak…

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Growing up in the village of Kewa — located between Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico — William Pacheco , a member of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, learned the value of his language, its history, and the traditions it carries. “We speak…

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The Financial Times has placed MIT Sloan School of Management at the top of its recently released 2026 Global MBA Ranking . It is the school’s first time gaining the No. 1 spot in the list. In its announcement of the rankings , the…

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The Financial Times has placed MIT Sloan School of Management at the top of its recently released 2026 Global MBA Ranking . It is the school’s first time gaining the No. 1 spot in the list. In its announcement of the rankings , the…

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“It’s a real validation of all the work behind the scenes,” says Karl Berggren, faculty head of electrical engineering within the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). He’s looking at the numbers of new…

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When people think of asteroids, they tend to picture rare, civilization-ending impacts like those depicted in movies such as “Armageddon.” In reality, the asteroids most likely to affect modern society are much smaller. While…

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Two outstanding MIT educators have been named MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of mechanical engineering Amos Winter and professor of electrical engineering and computer science Nickolai Zeldovich. For more than 30 years, the MacVicar…

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“It’s a real validation of all the work behind the scenes,” says Karl Berggren, faculty head of electrical engineering within the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). He’s looking at the numbers of new…

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When people think of asteroids, they tend to picture rare, civilization-ending impacts like those depicted in movies such as “Armageddon.” In reality, the asteroids most likely to affect modern society are much smaller. While…

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Two outstanding MIT educators have been named MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of mechanical engineering Amos Winter and professor of electrical engineering and computer science Nickolai Zeldovich. For more than 30 years, the MacVicar…

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This year in a rural school district in southeastern Montana, one high school student is taking calculus. For many people, calculus is daunting enough, even when teachers are used to offering it and peers are around to help. Studying it…

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This year in a rural school district in southeastern Montana, one high school student is taking calculus. For many people, calculus is daunting enough, even when teachers are used to offering it and peers are around to help. Studying it…

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Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt presented a forceful analysis of the damage smartphones and social media are doing to our cognition, our civic fabric, and our children’s wellbeing, while calling for renewed action to ward off their…

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Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt presented a forceful analysis of the damage smartphones and social media are doing to our cognition, our civic fabric, and our children’s wellbeing, while calling for renewed action to ward off their…

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As a professional mechanical engineer, Badri Ratnam was inspired when MIT started offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) in engineering and science in 2012. He wondered if he was up to the challenge of solving problem sets and…

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As a professional mechanical engineer, Badri Ratnam was inspired when MIT started offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) in engineering and science in 2012. He wondered if he was up to the challenge of solving problem sets and…

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Flying on Mars — or any other world — is an extraordinary challenge. An autonomous spacecraft, operating millions of miles from pilots or engineers who could intervene on Earth, must be able to navigate unfamiliar and changing…