MIT Glass Lab: Where art meets science

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:27:03 GMT

The MIT Glass Lab is located in the basement of the infinite corridor, in Room 4-003. Extracurricular classes are offered to the MIT community throughout the school year. The lab also hosts several sales throughout the year, as well as a lectureship and residency.

Learn more about the Glass Lab: http://web.mit.edu/glasslab/index.html

Sean Collier memorial ceremony time lapse

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:31:18 GMT

A time-lapse video showing the day of the memorial service for fallen MIT Police Officer Sean Collier on April 24, 2013. This video was shot from Westgate, an MIT dormitory building.

See more video from around campus on the day of the memorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmOJGYbWpSw

Watch the webcast of the event: http://mit.tv/11U5jin

Read more: http://mitne.ws/17iM72u

Plasma turbulence

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:00:03 GMT

This computer simulation shows a cross-section of the plasma inside a tokamak reactor. In this simulation, only the large-scale turbulence effects are modeled — which is adequate for some cases

MIT in mourning: Remembering Officer Sean Collier

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:07:44 GMT

Scenes from MIT's campus during the memorial ceremony for Officer Sean Collier on April 24, 2013.

A look inside the MIT Hobby Shop

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:23:13 GMT

Now in its 75th year, we take a look back how the Hobby Shop began, and how it evolved to what it is today.

Nanowires can lift liquids without power

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:31:19 GMT

New research has demonstrated for the first time that when inserted into a pool of liquid, nanowires naturally draw the liquid upward in a thin film that coats the surface of the wire.

OrigaMIT: MIT's Origami Club

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 07:06:20 GMT

OrigaMIT is MIT's original origami club, which exists to promote, practice and teach origami folding, analysis and design.

MIT-developed coating could prevent frost buildup

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:31:23 GMT

A team of MIT researchers has found a coating that outperforms others not only in preventing foggy buildups, but also in maintaining good optical properties without distortion.

Teaching robots to adapt

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:31:21 GMT

Students show how household robots could use a little lateral thinking to compensate for their physical shortcomings.

Scanning droplets

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:07:04 GMT

Animation showing how the base of a water droplet forms small "necks" as it moves across a surface that has pillars etched on it.

Imaging Zebrafish at MIT

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:31:20 GMT

MIT researchers have invented a new imaging system that allowed them to create this three-dimensional rendering of the cartilage that forms the skull of a five-day-old zebrafish larva.

Chock full of fun: The Laboratory for Chocolate Science

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:31:23 GMT

Founded in 2003, the MIT Laboratory for Chocolate Science is a student club dedicated to the appreciation of chocolate in all its myriad forms.

Chisholm, Langer receive nation’s highest honors for scientists and inventors

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:24:19 GMT

President Obama recognized the 2011 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipients at a White House ceremony on Feb. 1, 2013.

Staying afloat: the annual Cardboard Boat Regatta

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:31:20 GMT

In the annual Head of the Zesiger, students design and then race boats constructed solely out of cardboard, paint and tape.

Delivering large molecules to cells through tiny holes in membranes

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:31:22 GMT

Researchers from MIT have now found a safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane, by squeezing the cells through a narrow constriction that opens up tiny, temporary holes in the membrane.

Water-repellent surfaces that last

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:31:21 GMT

Ceramic forms of hydrophobic materials could be far more durable than existing coatings or surface treatments.

Artificial muscles at MIT

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:30:16 GMT

MIT researchers at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research have developed a new material that changes its shape after absorbing water vapor.

Stopping a leak the way blood does

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:30:14 GMT

Harnessing the principle that allows blood to clot, MIT researchers are working on new synthetic materials to plug holes.

Jumping water droplets improve power-plant efficiency

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:30:12 GMT

Scalable nanopatterned surfaces designed by MIT researchers could make for more efficient power generation and desalination.

MIT gives back to the community

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:30:13 GMT

Toys-for-Tickets and Fill-a-Cruiser, are just two of the many ways MIT gives back to the community each year.

MIT News at Noon with Burcu Erkmen

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 08:05:48 GMT

Berkmen discusses her research with Professors Utkan Demirci and Ed Boyden in developing 3-D brain tissue constructs.

Tech Model Railroad Club

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:44:09 GMT

Tucked deep within MIT's campus is a miniature world of model trains, elaborate miniature buildings and detailed sceneries. Now entering its 65th year, the Tech Model Railroad Club of MIT (TMRC) still caters to model railroaders, rail-fans and hackers alike.

In this video we take a tour of the layout and the history through the eyes of club members Quentin Smith, Rebecca Perry and John Macnamara.

TMRC: http://tmrc.mit.edu/

MIT News at Noon with Neil Gershenfeld and Ara Knaian

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:30:09 GMT

The researchers discussed their robot, the Milli-Motein, which is not only one of the world's smallest robots, but if can also reconfigure itself in a matter of seconds

Real-life Transformers? MIT researchers unveil (tiny) reconfigurable robots

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:30:17 GMT

This minuscule robot may be a harbinger of future devices that could fold themselves up into almost any shape imaginable.

MIT News at Noon with Missy Cummings

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:30:13 GMT

Aeronautics and astronautics professor discusses how boredom plays a major role in a drone-operators ability to do their job.

Spider silk makes music

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:06:05 GMT

An ear for music, it turns out, might be a key to making structural improvements in synthetic materials.

Understanding Arctic Sea Ice

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:56:25 GMT

Read more about Principal Research Scientist Patrick Heimbach's work in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT News, the MITgcm website, and the website for NASA's ECCO2.

About the animation: The simulation was conducted with the MIT coupled ocean-sea ice general circulation model, or in short, MITgcm. The configuration was constructed as part of the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean Phase II, or ECCO2 project. It was run by project partners Gunnar Spreen and Dimitris Menemenlis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on NASA's supercomputer "Pleiades" at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. Tim Sandstrom at NASA's Advanced Supercomputing Division performed the visualization of the simulations.

Image Credits:
Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/projects/arcpac/
European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat Mission, http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cryosat/
National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/sets/
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), http://www.awi.de/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:30:12 GMT

MIT students, administrators, and staff reflect on their Thanksgiving traditions, and what the holiday means

Spinning fibers at the nanoscale

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:05:27 GMT

A team of MIT researchers has developed a new way to generate nanofibers, using hardware built through standard chip-manufacturing processes.

Harnessing the Wind at MIT: Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:05:42 GMT

The wind Tunnel has proven instrumental in the examination of aerospace, architectural, vehicular, sports and other engineering systems

How nutrients spread in a turbulent sea

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:30:12 GMT

A computer simulation shows the way a patch of nutrient material is pulled apart into swirling filaments by turbulence in the water, eventually dissolving away completely.

On the hunt for rare cancer cells

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:30:12 GMT

Jellyfish-inspired device that rapidly and efficiently captures cancer cells from blood samples could enable better patient monitoring.

MIT News at Noon: Devavrat Shah on Twitter trends

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:30:13 GMT

Shah discussed how he uses his machine-learning algorithm to predict trends hours in advance of recognition by Twitter.

MIT creates oil-repelling materials

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 08:05:27 GMT

A steel mesh coated with a polymer containing a low concentration of a synthesized molecule called fluoroPOSS can repel water (dyed blue) but attracts the flammable fuel hexadecane (dyed red), allowing it to be used to separate the two substances. In different concentrations, fluoroPOSS can repel fuel.

Read more: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/surfaces-1206.html

MIT News at Noon: Jeffrey Karp

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:30:13 GMT

Karp discusses his team's new medical adhesive that is safe enough for an infant's delicate skin.

The Listening Room and music at MIT

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:30:00 GMT

The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences' Web-based collection showcases the Institute’s longstanding engagement with music.

Deflecting an asteroid, with paintballs

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:30:12 GMT

How might one encourage the deflection of an asteroid headed toward Earth? The answer could be with a volley or two of space-launched paintballs.

How to communicate science visually

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:30:12 GMT

Sometimes color helps. Sometimes it just gets in the way, says MIT's Felice Frankel

Neuron imaging

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 17:30:13 GMT

Researchers have developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.

In profile: Christoph Reinhart — Seeing the light

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:30:16 GMT

Architect Christoph Reinhart’s work is all about daylight and its effects: how people respond to light in buildings, and how it might be used more effectively.

Drawing carbon nanotubes on paper

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:30:08 GMT

MIT postdoc Katherine Mirica has designed a new type of pencil lead in which graphite is replaced with a compressed powder of carbon nanotubes.

In Profile: MIT's Catherine Tucker

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:30:13 GMT

On the intersection of her personal and professional lives

Automatic building mapping could help emergency responders

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:30:12 GMT

MIT researchers describe a wearable sensor system that automatically creates a digital map of the environment through which the wearer is moving.

Getting (drugs) under your skin

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:30:15 GMT

MIT engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of the skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient.

Chris Zegras: Tackling transportation issues around the world

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:30:16 GMT

The associate professor of transportation and urban planning builds tools that help designers make cities cleaner and greener.

Cleaning up oil spills with magnets

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:10:37 GMT

MIT researchers have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up spills.

Light-activated skeletal muscles

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:10:02 GMT

Scientists at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania are taking more than inspiration from nature — they’re taking ingredients.

Happy Labor Day 2012

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:33:25 GMT

Thank you to everyone who works to keeps MIT running smoothly 24/7!

Robot building and barefoot running with Russ Tedrake

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 07:11:12 GMT

Where other roboticists try to suppress the complex dynamics of mechanical systems, Russ Tedrake exploits them, to make control more efficient and versatile.

MIT-designed microthrusters can propel small satellites

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:09:58 GMT

A penny-sized rocket thruster, designed by MIT's Paulo Lozano, may soon power the smallest satellites in space.

Growing implant tissue on 3-D scaffolds

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:32:05 GMT

MIT researchers have now shown that implanted cells' therapeutic properties depend on their shape, which is determined by the type of scaffold on which they are grown.

Autonomous robotic plane flies indoors

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:32:41 GMT

New algorithms allow an autonomous robotic plane to dodge obstacles in a subterranean parking garage, without the use of GPS.

Soft autonomous earthworm robot

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:26:26 GMT

Researchers have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm.

Cell division and growth rate

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:06:25 GMT

MIT researchers answer a longstanding question in biology: How do cells know when to progress through the cell cycle?

Making Wrinkles

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 07:04:13 GMT

A team of researchers at MIT has discovered a way to harness the wrinkling process in a controlled and orderly way.

The role of U.S. airports in disease epidemics

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:41:40 GMT

Researchers at MIT are using a new mathematical model to better understand how contagious diseases are spread by air travel.

River networks on Saturn's moon Titan

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:04:08 GMT

Researchers at MIT and UT-Knoxville have analyzed images of Titan's river networks and determined that in some regions, rivers have created surprisingly little erosion.

MIT researchers develop an "intelligent co-pilot" for cars

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:41:34 GMT

A new semiautonomous driver system can take the wheel to keep drivers safe.

Glasses-free 3-D television from the MIT Media Lab

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A new method for producing multiple-perspective 3-D images could prove more practical in the short term than holography.

A new approach to water desalination

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:30:14 GMT

MIT researchers are using graphene, a one-atom-thick form of the element carbon, in the quest to make the earth's oceans a viable source of potable water.

Making the Invisible Visible in Video

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:43:47 GMT

MIT researchers have developed new software that amplifies variations in successive frames of video that are imperceptible to the naked eye.

Mapping the Moon's Shackleton Crater

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:30:10 GMT

Scientists from MIT, Brown University, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and other institutions have mapped the moon's Shackleton crater with unprecedented detail, and found possible evidence for small amounts of ice on the crater's floor.

Sharper ultrasound images could improve diagnostics

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:30:10 GMT

A new system for ultrasound imaging developed at MIT allows precise measurements and tracking of disease progression.

Tinier Wires

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:30:12 GMT

Researchers at MIT have found a new way of making complex three-dimensional structures using self-assembling polymer materials that form tiny wires and junctions.

MIT's 146th Commencement: by the numbers

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:30:10 GMT

See some of the numbers behind putting on the Institute's largest annual event.

Public service projects from MIT's Class of 2012

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 07:03:51 GMT

Meet a few of the members of MIT's Class of 2012 who are continuing their public service projects after graduation.

MIT's Brass Rat: A Vietnam War ring mystery

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:42:27 GMT

A Brass Rat — MIT's class ring — was returned to the United States with the effects of a Marine killed in combat who had no connection to the Institute. Help us find the solider, or family of the soldier, whose ring this is.

LiquiGlide

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:35:21 GMT

"A revolutionary super-slippery coating to liberate your ketchup!"

Jet-injected drugs may mean the end of needles

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:30:09 GMT

MIT researchers have engineered a device that delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without the use of a hypodermic needle.

L. Rafael Reif selected as the 17th president of MIT

Sun, 20 May 2012 12:54:58 GMT

Reif, 61, was elected to the post on Wednesday, May 16, by a vote of the MIT Corporation. He will assume the MIT presidency on July 2.

Making wrinkles: hydrogels that collapse into complex shapes may aid in drug delivery

Sat, 12 May 2012 07:03:14 GMT

Nick Fang says predicting how hydrogels transform could help in the design of more complex and effective drug-delivery systems.

The MIT Science Fiction Society

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:30:10 GMT

MIT’s Science Fiction Society curates an enormous library containing more than 90 percent of all English language science fiction ever published.

Press conference: MIT, Harvard announce edX

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:30:13 GMT

MIT President Susan Hockfield and Harvard University President Drew Faust, accompanied by top officials from both institutions, announced on Wednesday a new collaboration that will unite the Cambridge-based universities in an ambitious new partnership to deliver online education to learners anywhere in the world.

The new venture, called edX, will provide interactive classes from both Harvard and MIT -- for free -- to anyone in the world with an Internet connection. But a key goal of the project, Faust said, is "to enhance the educational experience of students who study in our classrooms and laboratories."

Read the initial announcement -- http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/mit-harvard-edx-announcement-050212.html

FAQ: What is edX? -- http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/edx-faq-050212.html

Read the event coverage -- http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/edx-launched-0502.html

Fog-free glass

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:48:57 GMT

MIT researchers' new "multifunctional" glass, based on surface nanotextures that produce an array of conical features, is self-cleaning and resists fogging and glare.

Professor Anant Agarwal on MITx

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:03:09 GMT

Open Learning Enterprise head Anant Agarwal discusses MITx, the Institute's new online-learning initiative.

Shifting sands

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:30:11 GMT

Sand in an hourglass might seem simple and straightforward, but such granular materials are actually tricky to model. Ken Kamrin of MIT MechE has come up with a model that predicts the flow of granular materials under a variety of conditions.

Smart sand and robot pebbles

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:30:10 GMT

Imagine that you have a big box of sand in which you bury a tiny model of a footstool. A few seconds later, you reach into the box and pull out a full-size footstool: The sand has assembled itself into a large-scale replica of the model.

The Buckliball

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:30:08 GMT

Inspired by a toy, the ‘buckliball’ — a collapsible structure fabricated from a single piece of material — represents a new class of 3-D, origami-like structures.

Daron Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:30:07 GMT

It is among the grandest topics in scholarship: Why do some nations, such as the United States, become wealthy and powerful, while others remain stuck in poverty? And why do some of those powers, from ancient Rome to the modern Soviet Union, expand and then collapse? From Adam Smith and Max Weber to the current day, scores of writers have grappled with these questions. Some scholars, like Weber, have argued that religious or cultural differences create vastly different economic outcomes among countries. Others have asserted that a lack of natural resources or technical expertise has prevented poor countries from creating self-sustaining economic growth.

Economists Daron Acemoglu of MIT and James Robinson of Harvard University have another answer: Politics makes the difference. Countries that have what they call "inclusive" political governments -- those extending political and property rights as broadly as possible, while enforcing laws and providing some public infrastructure -- experience the greatest growth over the long run. By contrast, Acemoglu and Robinson assert, countries with "extractive" political systems -- in which power is wielded by a small elite -- either fail to grow broadly or wither away after short bursts of economic expansion.

Read more at: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/why-nations-fail-0323.html

Weather in a tank

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:03:36 GMT

Since 2001, Lodovica Illari and her colleague John Marshall have worked to make rotating fluid dynamics more intuitive for undergraduate students studying weather and climate, using a demonstration aptly named "Weather in a Tank."

Optimal paths for automated underwater vehicles (AUV)

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:03:38 GMT

Sometimes the fastest pathway from point A to point B is not a straight line: for example, if you're underwater and contending with strong and shifting currents.

Studying scientists with Pierre Azoulay

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:30:07 GMT

Pierre Azoulay, an economist at MIT Sloan, studies how life scientists work - or, more precisely, what makes them work well.

Mysterious electron acceleration explained

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:30:06 GMT

A mysterious phenomenon detected by space probes has finally been explained, thanks to a massive computer simulation that was able to precisely align with details of the spacecraft observations.

Making nanodroplets drop faster

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:30:08 GMT

MIT mechanical engineering graduate student Nenad Miljkovic on condensation, nanodroplet formation, and new nanopatterned surfaces.

Unique languages, universal patterns

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:30:08 GMT

Under the surface, English and Japanese have deep similarities, as MIT linguist Shigeru Miyagawa argues in his new book, Case, Argument Structure, and Word Order.

Richard Braatz: Moving past trial-and-error

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:30:08 GMT

Richard Braatz believes mathematics can help streamline the road to discovery in pharmaceutical manufacturing as well as nanotechnology.

Harnessing nature's solar cells

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:30:08 GMT

MIT researcher Andreas Mershin has a vision that within a few years, people in remote villages in the developing world may be able to make their own solar panels, at low cost, using otherwise worthless agricultural waste as their raw material.

Bill Gates - Bright minds and big problems

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:17:47 GMT

Bill Gates, philanthropist and retired co-founder of Microsoft Corp., urged MIT students on April 21, 2010 to focus their talent and energy on tackling the world's biggest challenges, including global health, poverty and education.

Highlights: President Obama at MIT

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:17:47 GMT

On Oct. 23, 2009, MIT proudly hosted a visit by President Barack Obama, which caused great excitement on campus and in the MIT community around the world. This short video produced by the MIT News Office captures the day's highlights.

Bob Weinberg on his lab's research

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:17:46 GMT

The Weinberg lab is known for its discoveries of the first human oncogene — the ras oncogene that causes normal cells to form tumors, and the isolation of the first known tumor suppressor gene — the Rb gene.

Michael Demkowicz on extreme materials

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:17:45 GMT

Assistant professor in MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering Michael Demkowicz designs materials for extreme environments such as high temperature, high stress and radiation damage.

Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:30:07 GMT

Amos Winter discusses the Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC) and results of recent trials in East Africa.

Jeffrey Grossman - Solving energy problems, one molecule at a time

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:29:17 GMT

Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Jeffrey Grossman explores new possibilities in topics from molecules to rooftop solar panels. Read more about Grossman's work at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/profile-grossman-0126.html

Polina Golland - The quantifier

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:13:13 GMT

By helping biologists turn their hunches into rigorous mathematical models, Polina Golland builds software that interprets medical images. Read more about Golland's work at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/profile-golland-0112.html

Visualizing video at the speed of light -- one trillion frames per second

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:04:53 GMT

MIT Media Lab researchers have created a new imaging system that can acquire visual data at a rate of one trillion frames per second. That's fast enough to produce a slow-motion video of light traveling through objects.

Doing double duty: MIT's Collin Stultz

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:58:50 GMT

A computational biologist and physician, Collin Stultz takes a unique approach to studying diseases that could lead to new treatments.

MIT's Mentor Advocate Partnership (MAP) Program

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:11:50 GMT

The Mentor Advocate Partnership (MAP) is a volunteer mentoring program for MIT students seeking to foster their holistic development along both academic and nonacademic dimensions. Run by the Office of Minority Education, the MAP program is designed to help first-year students by building their relationships with staff and faculty, monitoring their academic performance and personal well-being, and offering encouragement and a proactive support network.

Caspar Hare - How we (should) decide

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:02:49 GMT

Associate professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy Caspar Hare aims to develop theories of practical rationality that may just help us make real-world decisions. Read more about Hare's work at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/pr

MIT-Pfizer Groundbreaking

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:33:39 GMT

Aiming for breakthroughs in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and other major illnesses, MIT and the pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Inc. held a formal groundbreaking for a new, multidisciplinary research center to be built on MIT property in the Kendall Square neighborhood. The two-building complex will house Pfizer’s Cardiovascular, Metabolic, and Endocrine Diseases (CVMED) and Neuroscience research units. It will be situated within a couple of blocks of several MIT biomedical centers that conduct research related to Pfizer’s areas of drug development.

MIT Red Balloons social spread

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:46:01 GMT

This video illustrates how referral between participants of the MIT team spread on the continental U.S. before and during the DARPA challenge. Each white line represents a referral from an existing participant's location of the MIT team to the the location of a new team participant. ~36 hours before the competition, under the incentive described in the paper, people actively signed up with the MIT team and referred friends from all different areas, as the white lines expanded rapidly across the U.S. in the animation. The lines highlighted in yellow represents referrals leading to locations where the balloons were actually launched. The social diffusion process started by the MIT team naturally led us to all ten balloon locations in an efficient manner for this time-critical task.

Recent Videos posted to MIT News on MIT Video

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L. Rafael Reif selected as the 17th president of MIT

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