| Carbon Reckoning | | | | | | Daniel Rothman, a professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, has found that increased carbon dioxide in the oceans could spark a runaway cascade of chemical feedbacks. The geologic record suggests that such “excitations” of the carbon cycle have accompanied mass extinctions. |
| Acemoglu and Berger named Institute Professors MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and political scientist Suzanne Berger have been named Institute Professors, MIT’s highest faculty honor. Berger is the inaugural John M. Deutch Institute Professor. |  |
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| New artificial intelligence programming language goes beyond deep learning A general-purpose language works for computer vision, robotics, statistics, and more. |  |
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| Seven MIT faculty win Presidential Early Career Awards Checkelsky, Chung, LeBeau, Lee, Marelli, Slatyer, and Surendranath receive the highest U.S. award for young scientists and engineers. |
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| Getting more heat out of sunlight A material developed at MIT can passively capture solar heat for home heating or industrial applications. |  |
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| What’s cool about science? Ask Physics Girl Dianna Cowern ’11 created and hosts Physics Girl, an educational YouTube channel with 1.3 million subscribers. “I just love that physics can explain the world,” she says. |  |
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| How moving to the right place can prolong your life // The Washington Post New research from MIT economists highlights the effects of location on the life expectancy of people over age 65. |
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| Do Americans need air-conditioning? // The New York Times At MIT, Associate Professor Neri Oxman and colleagues are developing self-cooling building facades and clothing. |
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| Mucus: The body’s unsung hero // Scientific American “I like to call [mucus] the unsung hero of the body — it’s something that has such powerful effects over our health,” says Associate Professor Katharina Ribbeck. |
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| Meet 38 immigrants who show why it should be easier to become a citizen // Fast Company Professors Angelika Amon and Dina Katabi are included in the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s annual list of “Great Immigrants, Great Americans.” |
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| | | As of this month, and for the first time ever, a majority of the Institute’s eight engineering department heads are women. They are (left to right): Asu Ozdaglar of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Paula Hammond of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Anne White of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Angela Belcher of the Department of Biological Engineering, and Evelyn Wang of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. |
| | | Did you know that high-speed photography was pioneered at MIT? A recent short documentary explores the contributions of late MIT Professor Harold “Doc” Edgerton, who spent his career making the invisible visible. The electronic stroboscope he invented helped to create some of the most iconic images in photographic history, including this bullet speeding through an apple. |
| | | View from above: In an image that reflects the vibrancy of MIT and its surrounding neighborhoods, photographer Tom Berrigan captured this stunning summer solstice sunset over the Institute. |
This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by making time to meditate. 🧘
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!
—Maia, MIT News Office |
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